Former South Shields MP David Miliband's '˜no Brexit' plea

David Miliband will make an impassioned plea for Britain to remain within the EU today.
Former South Shields MP David Miliband.Former South Shields MP David Miliband.
Former South Shields MP David Miliband.

The former Shields MP and Foreign Secretary will tell an audience at Westminster’s Church House “now is not the time for unilateral political disarmament”.

In a speech entitled Britain and Europe: Strength through alliance, Mr Miliband will argue that “no nation in human peacetime history, never mind Britain, has voluntarily given up as much political power as we are being invited to throw away on June 23”.

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“My message is simple: Now is not the time for unilateral political disarmament.

Quitting the EU would be “a tragic miscalculation which weakens ourselves, our friends and the international order on which we depend”.

He will argue being in Europe boosts Britain’s profile in terms of diplomacy, security, defence, and power: “Rather than limit or diminish us, the European Union multiplies British power, British ideas and British values in very direct ways.

“Simply stated, withdrawal from the EU would mean less power for Britain, not more; less influence, not more; less security, not more.

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“If we want our interests and values to matter in the modern world, the cold facts of life require Britain to be in Europe.

“Quitting Europe means giving up on our alliances; forsaking our position at the negotiating table; abandoning our international responsibilities and risks setting off a domino effect that strengthens our enemies and undermines our allies.

“This is not just bad for Britain.

“It is very bad for the international order.”