Former PM Gordon Brown chooses DMU as scene for crucial Remain speech


The eyes of the world have been on De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) as the scene for Gordon Brown's much-anticipated pro-EU speech.

The former Prime Minister declared that Britain should be a "leader in Europe and not leaving it" to an audience of hundreds, including dozens of national media, Remain supporters, DMU students and public.

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In the main atrium of DMU's Queen's building - recently used as the location for a live EU referendum debate by Channel 4 - Mr Brown outlined his argument to persuade people to vote for Britain to remain in the EU on 23 June.

He said: "The EU is not the cause of the problem; but if you can get co-operation working, the EU can be part of the solution to the problem."

Tackling employment, Mr Brown said he foresaw that by staying in the EU and helping reform the single market, around 500,000 new jobs could be created over the next decade.

He argued that it was only by co-operation with Europe that the UK would be able to meet its environmental and energy needs, and that workers would be more widely protected against exploitative contracts under EU-wide labour laws.

DMU has recently seen a 60% rise in applications from international students and Mr Brown told the audience that he wasn't surprised by this: "People are inspired to come over here and study," he said.

He went on to say: "It's a real pleasure to be here at De Montfort University this afternoon. Universities stand for objectivity, rationality and the search for the truth.

"It's only a pity I left all this behind when I moved into politics," he quipped.

He then mentioned some of the areas of Leicester funded by EU money, like Jubilee Square and Friar's Mill, along with the funding DMU receives from Europe in its many research projects.

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After concluding his speech, Mr Brown took questions from members of the audience and gathered journalists.

Chinese student Lu Xiaoli, studying Intercultural Business Communications, said she had been impressed by the former Prime Minister's passion.

The 27-year-old said: "He was really convincing. I think it is better for Britain to stay in the EU, it leads to more co-operation between countries.

"I have been here in Leicester for three months and I love it; it's so dynamic and international. Many foreign people admire the UK and it seems right that it moves towards more co-operation, not less."

Introducing the event, DMU's Chief Operating Officer Ben Browne said that it was important for a university to encourage debate and outlined some of the ways in which the university had encouraged students to both register to vote and use that vote.

He said: "The EU referendum is the most important decision that we will have to make in our generation, particularly for students who, going forward, will have to live with the consequences of this choice."

Posted on Monday 13 June 2016

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