Welsh Labour has just launched its Labour In for Wales campaign, the campaign for a vote to stay in the European Union in the forthcoming referendum. The launch took place at Cardiff and the Vale College where apprentices who have benefitted from EU funding spoke to First Minister Carwyn Jones AM, Derek Vaughan MEP, Nia Griffith MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Lord Peter Hain and finance minister Jane Hutt AM
Speaking at the launch, Nia Griffith MP said,
“Staying in the EU is absolutely vital to the economy of Wales; our exports to the EU are worth £6 billion a year to the Welsh economy. We also know that many of our big manufacturing companies see remaining in the EU as vital to them staying in Wales; many have sister factories in other parts of the EU, and, if the UK leaves the EU, they would concentrate their new investment abroad, rather than in Wales, and we would see production lines being taken out of Wales, and moved abroad, causing substantial job losses.
Wales also benefits enormously from EU funds, and we all know that, if we left the EU, we would never see the Tory Chancellor George Osborne give a fraction of that money to Wales.”