Gordon Brown calls for more positive Remain campaign

"In this debate, those of us who are supporting remaining in Europe have first of all got to be positive," he told a meeting of 100 leading economists held by the Centre for European Reform, a pro-EU think-tank, "we have got to put forward the positive arguments," he said.

...But Mr Brown was quietly insistent that there was a case to be made that on a host of issues – taxation, environment, social security, illegal immigration, energy and maintain anti-terror defences – British voters would be better off remaining in the EU. ...He also warned that a campaign focussed narrowly on jobs and investment would fail to address the wider legitimate concerns that British voters had about globalisation and the democratic deficit with Brussels.

"People’s concerns are not just economic and financial but they relate to security and how safe they feel, and they relate to what kind of country we are becoming, our cultures, our traditions and what is happening on our borders," he said.

Asked if he felt the ‘remain’ campaign was incompetent and had failed to make the case in a properly positive way, Mr Brown demurred. "No," he said, "When I say positive, what I mean is that its important to tell people what the risks are, but also, looking forward, what the prospective gains are."