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Wolverhampton MP Pat McFadden: Don't stumble out of EU

Britain would be guilty of showing a lack of leadership on the world stage should it 'pull up the drawbridge' on immigration, MP Pat McFadden has said.

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The Wolverhampton South East MP said 'stumbling out of the EU' would signify the absence of 'strong leadership' on the part of the UK.

Mr McFadden, who was sacked by Jeremy Corbyn as Labour's shadow Europe spokesman, made the case for Britain to stay remain part of the EU in a speech to the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin.

He told members of Ireland's main foreign policy think tank that withdrawing from the EU could lead to serious economic consequences and have a negative impact on workers rights.

It could also raise 'constitutional questions', he said, with a possible break up of the UK something anti-Europe campaigners had 'failed to address'.

"On the issue of migration there is a legitimate discussion to be had about the basis upon which people pay in and draw down from welfare systems, particularly in a world where people move around more than they did in the past," he said.

"But we should be clear that the vast majority of people who come to the UK from elsewhere in the EU do not come to milk the welfare system.

"They come to work hard, pay their taxes and make a positive contribution to our country."

He added: "Beyond the EU's borders, we have Russian aggression in Ukraine, a terrible civil war in Syria and sometimes within the EU attacks on the pluralism and openness that we hold dear.

"It's the easiest thing in the world to say this is all too difficult, that we should pull up the drawbridge. And in many countries there are voices saying precisely this. But that is not the leadership which these challenges demand.

"The truth is these problems require more co-operation, more partnership and a greater exercise of co-ordinated leadership and we should be strong enough to say so.

"I want to see the UK play a part in that leadership task, not walk away from it. This referendum is also about what kind of leadership we will exert over the problems we face today."

Mr McFadden, who is co-chair of the pro-EU Labour In group, said the 'core case' rests on Britain's economic interests, arguing that membership of the EU had enabled Britain to 'create jobs and boost incomes'.

He added that EU membership had protected workers' rights, including access to guaranteed paid leave, equal rights for part time workers and fair pay for agency workers.

Mr McFadden said the possibility of a second referendum on Scottish independence would be another consequence of Britain leaving the EU.

"Stumbling out of the EU would not be the exercise of strong leadership, it would signify its absence," he concluded.

The Prime Minister is due to set out his plans for a renegotiation of Britain's EU membership at the European Council next month.

If an agreement is reached the referendum could take place as early as June this year, although Mr Cameron has until the end of 2017.

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