23 June, 2016 The EU Referendum A Europe for all of us aw.org.uk w w w.usd Alan Johnson MP, and leader of the Labour In For Britain campaign, talks to arena about the EU Referendum... T his is the biggest vote in post-war history, says Alan Johnson, who wants voters to choose peace, security and prosperity and stay in Europe. Q. Following the recent attacks on mainland Europe the question everyone is asking – Is the UK safer, more secure, in the EU? Yes. People instinctively understand that crime doesn’t recognise borders. Neither does terrorism or organised crime and they will move around and look for the point where it is safest to carry out their criminal activities and terrorism does that too. People also instinctively understand that through co-operation with the other 27 EU countries this helps us tackle organised crime and terrorism. The Leave camp say we do that anyway, yes we would try to do that but we wouldn’t have the framework to do it. 10 arena Let me give you an example: Say a British copper recognises a number plate, checks it, and fi nds the driver/owner is wanted in say the Netherlands. Information is exchanged. The driver is arrested, using the European Arrest Warrant – available only in the EU – and that driver is dealt with accordingly, in a matter of days. If we are outside the EU that can’t happen. Nor would we have the vital structures and access to information for tackling terrorism. Warm words from the Leave campaign just won’t do it. Before we had the European Arrest Warrant system it could take up to 13 years to deal with this sort of criminality. Q. What are the economic benefi ts of staying in the EU? This issue is very diffi cult for the Leave side to explain when you consider the Governor of the Bank of England has warned infl ation and interest rates will rise and the pound will fall if we leave. Both the employers’ group the CBI and the TUC has warned about the impact on jobs. I understand Usdaw members lead busy lives and don’t follow these things closely but we have to explain to everyone just how serious the threat to the UK is if we leave. Access to the single market, with its 550m consumers, is the biggest commercial market in the world – bigger than China and bigger than the USA.