‘Britain Stronger in Europe’ launches with celebrities and a dose of patriotism

The campaign for Britain to remain in the EU, now titled ‘Britain Stronger in Europe’, is launching today with a swish video and scary speech. Sir Stuart Rose, the former CEO of Marks and Spencer, will claim say that every Briton is £450 better off thanks to our EU membership — a claim the Leave camps will undoubtedly counter with their own figures. And just in case you weren’t sure, Rose says ‘the choice facing us in this referendum is the biggest in a generation’. But what is most notable is Rose’s patriotic language. He will say:

‘To claim that the patriotic course for Britain is to retreat, withdraw and become inward looking is to misunderstand who we are as a nation.’

Rose will also attack those the Leave campaigners as the ‘quitters’ who are ‘running away’ from the chance of real reform in the EU. The patriotic/running scared message is interesting because it’s one usually weaponised by the Leave campaigns and it’s therefore significant that Rose is choosing these as the main themes for the In campaign.