Kevin Peel presents his tips for campaigning in the European referendum

The referendum could be won or lost in conversations on the doorstep, down the pub and on Facebook. Most people have been fed a Eurosceptic cocktail of news for years. Stories about bendy bananas and banning Cornish pasties are often quoted as typical examples of ‘Brussels bureaucracy’, but rarely does anything positive make the headlines. This has left many sceptical, but not hostile. Polls show that a sizeable number of people have not yet made up their minds about how they will vote in the referendum and are open to being persuaded. Many of these are Labour voters. It is all to play for but we have just a few months to change the conversation and that starts by having a conversation. Download this centrefold and use our talking points in your campaigning as you make the case to Labour voters that Britain is better off in the European Union.

Remember to use the arguments best suited to the conversation. People want to know how the outcome will affect them. Most importantly, you need to listen to what they have to say and understand their concerns.

My unashamed pro-Europeanism is very personal. European investment delivered new double-glazed windows in the council house I grew up in at a time when the then Tory government was neglecting communities like mine. Many of the rights I enjoy as a gay man are the result of European equality and anti-discrimination legislation. The ward I now represent as a councillor in Manchester was transformed with EU investment and thousands of jobs and businesses in my community rely on our continued membership of the EU.

The referendum will not be won by the campaign which reels off the most facts and figures, important though the evidence is. We need to make a personal, emotional case about why this matters – what membership has done for Britain and the people we represent and most importantly what it can do in the future.

The ‘outers’ wave the British flag but they do not represent British interests. There is nothing patriotic about pulling us out of a union which has delivered significant benefits to our country and to millions of British people and on which millions of jobs and billions of pounds of investment depend. There is nothing patriotic about shrinking our influence on the world stage and inhibiting our ability to tackle big global issues like climate change.

The question we need to be asking in the referendum campaign is, ‘What sort of country do you want Britain to be?’ I do not believe the majority want to see our country diminished.

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Jobs and the economy

The biggest risk of a British exit is the potential job losses and the drop in exports and investment into the United Kingdom from other EU countries that would likely follow. Benefits include:

• Over three million British jobs are linked to our membership of the European Union
• Nearly half of all our exports – worth £227bn to our economy last year – go to other EU countries
• Every year on average the UK receives about £26.5bn of investment from other EU countries

These are big figures and can be hard to comprehend. Your local members of the European parliament should have more localised information about the number of jobs in your region which are linked to the EU. Try to use localised figures where possible and provide specific examples of jobs, businesses and investment in the area you are talking about to make it real to people.

Workplace rights and consumer benefits

Many of the workplace rights and protections we all take for granted are the result of European law, much of it championed by Labour MEPs in Brussels and delivered by a Labour government at home, including:

• Guaranteed right to minimum paid leave
• Paid maternity and paternity leave
• Equal pay for women
• Rights for part-time and agency workers

It is not just in the workplace that British people feel the benefits of EU law. Being part of a single market of 500 million people saves us money. Flights to other European countries are much cheaper, it is cheaper to call home and use the internet on your phone abroad, and the goods we buy are cheaper. The average British family saves around £450 a year due to the lower prices we get because we are part of the EU.

Our security and influence in the world

The European Union has prevented war in Europe. No EU country has gone to war with another since the EU was created and we have had peace in Europe for 70 years. Britain is safer as a member of the EU. We are also a stronger player on the world stage as part of a bloc of 28 countries of over 500 million people. When negotiating with countries like China with over one billion citizens we can get a better deal as part of the EU than we would alone. On tackling the big issues of the day – like terrorism, climate change and cross-border crime – we cannot act alone. We are stronger in the EU.

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Kevin Peel is Labour representative for north-west England on the Committee of the Regions