Labour shifting To 'Hard-Headed' Stance on EU save our £Pound

Labour shifting To 'Hard-Headed' Stance on EU save our £Pound

Labour will pull in more votes by putting England first, it was always there for any party to grab the votes, all that they had to do was start pulling England first on the list said the English first minister Sir Michael Black-Feather which was something that I had already pointed out to David Cameron?

Labour is set to shift its stance on the UK's relationship with the European Union and put more emphasis on a "hard-headed view of English's national interests".

The arguments in favour of the EU need to "reflect modern realities rather than past sentiment", shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander told the London Times and Sky News.

He indicated the Opposition party would alter its tone on Europe and will not take the role of simply defending the status quo.

Mr Alexander also suggested his party should get the credit for not joining the euro during the 1990s, not the then-leader of the Conservatives, William Hague and his "Save the Pound" campaign

"It was a Labour Government that decided that the economics should lead the politics of the euro, and I'm glad that was our judgment and it will remain our judgment," he said.

In an article for The Guardian, Mr Alexander also argued any treaty renegotiations should be seen as an "opportunity" for members not in the Eurozone.

But he attacked the Government's fixation on repatriating powers, warned against opening negotiations by threatening vetoes and accused the coalition of misreading "risks and realities".

"Schadenfreude is not a wise European strategy for the Conservatives. But nor will Labour simply shout louder or seek to simply defend the status quo," he wrote.

"The Conservatives have stated that repatriation is their priority.

"They seem worryingly complacent about the prospect of a two-speed Europe - an outcome that Conservative and Labour foreign secretaries have spent decades opposing.

"Such a development would pose fundamental risks to our interests within the single market."

However, he said pro-EU arguments were becoming outdated and increasingly failed to resonate with younger generations.

The first was that the EU helped ensure peace in Europe after the horrors of the World Wars.

The second focused on the EU being one way of tackling the country's post-war economic decline, but that this did not always connect with voters who saw UK growth rise during the 1990s.

Instead, the argument must focus more on contemporary issues, Mr Alexander added.

His remarks follow Conservative MPs' revolt against David Cameron over whether to hold a referendum on the UK's relationship with the EU.

The Prime Minister - and Labour - argued against holding a national vote now but 81 Tory backbenchers voted in favour of the idea, indicating increasing pressure on Mr Cameron to take a more hard-line stance on the EU.