London - British pro-Europeans on Monday launched their campaign to keep their country inside the European Union, cautioning that turning away from the world's biggest economic bloc would hurt jobs and torpedo London's global financial clout.
“Do we continue to lead the world by leading in Europe or risk diminishing our influence on the world stage by turning our backs on Europe?” veteran business executive Stuart Rose, leader of the new “Britain Stronger in Europe” campaign, asked.
Prime Minister David Cameron is seeking to renegotiate Britain's relationship with the bloc it joined in 1973 as the 'in' and 'out' campaigns prepare for battle in a referendum on membership due before the end of 2017.
Opinion polls suggest voters are split, and that crises in the EU over Greek debt and a surge of migrants may be turning some Britons against staying in the 28-nation bloc.
Launching the pro-EU campaign in a fashionable former brewery in East London's Brick Lane, Rose, former boss of retailer Marks and Spencer, said he wanted reform of Europe but did not want to risk leaving.
“Leaving Europe is a leap in the dark and I don't believe that is a risk that is worth us taking,” Rose said.
In a speech pitched towards stressing the economic and political pragmatism of staying inside the Union, Rose said the referendum would define Britain's future prosperity.
“The choice facing us in this referendum is the biggest choice that we have had in perhaps a generation: Do we remain part of the largest free trade market on the planet or do we walk away, perhaps risking jobs, creating uncertainty in our economy?”
For at least a generation, Cameron's Conservative party has been riven by a conflict over Europe that contributed to the downfall of both Margaret Thatcher and John Major, the last two Conservative prime ministers.
Under pressure from lawmakers who feared the electoral success of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP), Cameron in 2013 promised a referendum on membership by the end of 2017 though many analysts and campaigners expect it to be called next year.
Both 'in' and 'out' campaigns are well-financed, attracting multi-millionaire backers, and their opposing arguments are well-honed with many of their proponents having spent years airing them both inside and outside parliament.
A rival campaign, “Vote Leave”, was launched last week by a group of business leaders and lawmakers, while those wanting 'Brexit' can also find a voice with another group, the “Leave.EU” campaign, supported by the head of UKIP.
Both sides are keen to show they involve politicians from both main parties, but also to demonstrate a wider appeal by attracting businessmen and women.
Rose said he supported Cameron's efforts to renegotiate Britain's relationship with the European Union but the country could only do so from within the bloc.
“I am not an uncritical fan of the European Union,” said Rose, a Conservative peer. “Europe does need reform.”
Cameron has pledged to try to get “the best of both worlds” from the EU by asking for guarantees that Britain will be kept out of ever-closer union and the euro is not the EU's official currency, protecting the pound.
Rose said the economic argument for the world's fifth largest economy staying in the EU was clear.
“British families are stronger and better off in Europe,” Rose said, quoting figures showing membership was worth 3 000 pounds ($4 600) per year to the average British household.
“(If Britain left) we know our economy would take a hit. What we don't know is how bad that hit would be,” he said.
“If we want Britain to be a leader in the world we need to be in Europe helping to make the big decisions. Britain is not the Britain we know unless we are outward-looking and engaged in Europe.”
Reuters