I spoke at a Labour In For Britain press conference in Westminster alongside fellow Labour MPs Alan Johnson, Chuka Umunna, Seema Malhotra, and Kate Osamor, urging BAME voters to stay in the European Union.
The EU plays a very important role in challenging racism and intolerance in our country through EU-wide laws that prevent race and religious discrimination. The Brexit camp want to use a vote to leave to strip these rights away. Leaving the EU would also put millions of jobs at risk through decreased trade and investment, and weaken our international influence.
The opportunities to build a better, stronger and more peaceful world will be with a Labour vote to remain in the EU which is why I am voting to stay in Europe and urging those from the BAME community, my constituency and across the country to do the same.
Britain’s membership to the EU strengthens our ties with our Commonwealth partners:
– It provides us with access to the EU’s free trade deals with 19 Commonwealth countries.
– We have been able to can work collectively on vital issues such as securing better trade terms for Pakistan after floods in 2010 and 2011, and overturning the EU ban on Indian mangoes in 2014.
– After the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh, the UK took action with the EU and the International Labour Organisation to ensure better health and safety rights for garment workers.