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Look in the mirror. This is about us and only us. Nobody else.

This referendum is about Britain; what kind of country WE want to be and not about what kind of country anyone else wants for us.

Listen to the real questions - not what best meets the needs of European institutions but what best meets OUR needs and OUR aspirations as proud British people.

And that means what best meets our need for jobs, prosperity and the best prospects for our children.

The economic evidence about British jobs gained, British businesses created and British investment secured is absolutely sound.

We might hazard a guess that most outside investment in Britain’s future – the money that creates jobs in the car industry or hi-tech medicine - comes from the United States or perhaps, now, China.

That guess would be wide of the mark. Half of it comes from mainland Europe.

Exporting abroad creates thousands of jobs for British workers and we may be tempted to believe that most of our exports - go to the Commonwealth or to China but only a fraction do.

The biggest bulk - 40 per cent - go to Germany, France and the European mainland with China taking only 4.5 per cent and India 1.5 per cent.

Thousands of us are going to work today in the 200,000 British companies trading with Europe.

10,000 European-owned businesses employ us, British workers, across our country.

Read more: 'It's more patriotic to want to stay in European Union'

The most reputable study, by Iain Begg of the London School of Economics, suggests that three million jobs depend on demand from other European countries.

Europe matters to our livelihoods more than most think. And standing up for British jobs by championing our case in Europe is the patriotic thing to do.

But business fact sheets and trade statistics struggle to be relevant in what looks like a culture war that tells us that, because of Europe, Britain is no longer recognisable as the country we were born into and that our distinctive values are under threat.

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So now we have to be up front about what it is to be British in the changing world in which we live.

It is often said that there are two views of what it is to be British. One view is we are best standing alone, apart and aloof, recalling halcyon days when we were defiant and on our own.

But there is another view.

That is that we are the most outward-looking of people. Engaged in the world. Always a leader.

Since the last referendum in 1975, we have become an interconnected world, part of an integrated economy and we are living through the first period in human history marked out by our interdependence.

What that means is that we are bumping up against one another, around the corner and around the world.

What WE do affects other people and what THEY do affects us, particularly our nearest neighbours.

We are going to share the future. The only question is: on what basis will we share?

(Image: Getty)

Will we share a future of misery by refusing to work with each other or share a future where each contributes to the other’s prosperity in a Europe in which Britain leads the way forward?

The message could not be clearer: for trade and thus sustaining millions of jobs, to defend ourselves against terrorists and people smugglers who operate across borders, to prevent unscrupulous competitors in other parts of Europe undercutting us, to use our energy resources such as wind and wave to best effect and to ensure our security and stability, there IS no alternative but to co-operate with our neighbours.

Building a common future is our insurance policy against a troubled world.

Sharing solutions is our protection against environmental pollution, financial crisis and terrorist infiltration.

All over the world, creative co-operation can yield good results, while divorce in any walk of life is a messy, expensive business.

Today’s biggest challenge is getting the balance right – to achieve as much autonomy as we can secure and as much co-operation as we need.

Managing immigration is one example: we need our own border controls, including the entry barriers at Calais AND even closer co-operation across Europe to track and stop illegal immigrants and arrest the crooks who trade in human misery.

(Image: PA)

Co-operation in the European Union is not at the expense of pursuing our national interest but advancing it.

In contrast to the UKIP view of being British - that we are only at our best on our own and semi-detached - let us remind people of that more profoundly-patriotic view - that we stand up for British people’s needs and aspirations best not by choosing splendid isolation but as a proud, outward-looking nation playing our part in the world - fighting our corner for Britain as a leader of Europe.

Never forget: we are the British people who did not stand aside but led on the mainland of Europe sacrificing everything to overcome fascism, totalitarianism and anti-semitism.

We are the British people who have more recently led the way in standing up for action against climate change, for debt relief for the poor and for human rights such as the banning of land mines and chemical weapons.

And we are the British people now able, if we so choose, to lead against the reactionary forces that are now rearing their head across the world - economic protectionism, xenophobic isolationism and anti-immigrant racism.

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We can lead because the rest of Europe is looking for a united front against a military-resurgent but economically-enfeebled Russia, a counterweight to balance the dominance of Germany, a champion of a more democratic, accountable and competitive Europe and someone to lead the fight for jobs under threat from low-wage competition from Asia.

And Britain - now likely to be Europe’s biggest economy by 2050 and historically the most internationally-minded of all European nations - is well placed to fashion a more outward-looking, globally-oriented Europe that can meet and master the challenge of a rising Asia and Africa.

It is time to be honest. If we want something done, Europe is where we can best carry influence and where we can do most good, for ourselves and the world.

This is about you. Look in the mirror.