New pro-European campaign organisation: Stronger In relaunched as Open Britain
The Stronger In campaign from the European referendum is relaunching as Open Britain:
Britain is at its best when open - open minded, open for business, open to trade and investment, open to talent and hard work, open to Europe and to the world. So today we are pleased to launch Open Britain, a new campaign for the best possible relationship with Europe for Britain's future.
Open Britain will help tackle the many unanswered questions about our future relationship with the EU, whether over funding, trade, immigration, security, the environment or workers' rights. We will also, we hope, play a part in the now necessary debate about how we make our economy fairer - arguably the most pressing issue after June 23rd.
And we will do so in two ways.
Open Britain will be a cross-party organisation with a strong base in Parliament. Three of our leading MPs have written here about our starting point for campaigning.
But also, crucially, we will be a grassroots campaign, continuing in the spirit of the referendum - and we hope you will continue campaigning with us.
We plan to organise in every nation and region of the country as well as online - ensuring that the politicians in Westminster, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast hear your voice. You were a vital part of the Stronger In campaign and we want you to remain a vital part of Open Britain.
We both worked on the Stronger In campaign, gave everything over the last year to keep Britain in Europe and were devastated by the defeat. But of course we respect the result, and our role now will be to make sure Britain remains close to Europe.
Open Britain's Executive Directors are Joe Carberry and James McGrory and three MPs fronting its launch article in the Sunday Times are Anna Soubry, Pat McFadden and Norman Lamb:
Those who rejected economic warnings in the referendum campaign did so because they themselves felt rejected by the political mainstream and faced an economy that was failing to spread opportunity. Inequalities in growth and living standards have been laid bare but, in our view, people didn't reject the global economy - their vote was a call to share more equally in it.
There is no path to prosperity that does not include competing with other major economies, integrating into global supply chains, attracting international investment and ideas or developing new sectors. Post June 23, we know that an argument for a global economy must acknowledge the limits of free trade alone to deliver higher living standards for all. An open economy must be coupled with a national strategy to deliver more equitable economic gains through regional regeneration, investment in infrastructure and far wider educational opportunities.