Douglas Alexander MP, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, speaking this morning at the company headquarters of Kingfisher in London, will address an audience of UK business leaders on the importance of Britain’s place in Europe. 

In an event hosted by the Centre for European Reform, he will set out Labour’s approach to Europe and make the case that Europe remains as vital to Britain’s prosperity as NATO is to our security. 

He will urge British businesses to join in the debate in setting out the case for Britain to play a role at the heart of a reformed EU. 

He will argue that David Cameron and George Osborne know the damage that EU exit bring, but are increasingly willing to contemplate it because of internal party political management priorities. 

On the need for businesses to speak up about the risk of exit and benefits of membership: 

I think the next election could be the most decisive for Britain in a generation. 

The fate of our prosperity as a nation and our status as a European power are all at stake. 

There is too much to lose for any of us to just sit back and take a wait-and-see approach. 

And that is true when it comes to Britain’s place in Europe. 

That is why last year I made a call to British businesses to find their voice alongside those politicians willing to speak up and speak out and make the case for Britain to play a leading role at the heart of a reformed EU. 

That doesn’t mean supporting one party over the other. It means supporting one vision of Britain over the alternative. 

A vision of a Britain that is outward facing, with a vibrant and growing economy, interlinked with its European neighbourhood and prising open markets beyond its region.

Or a vision of Britain as a country that is retreating from the world, turning in on itself and undermining vital national and economic interests in the process.  

On the fact that David Cameron knows the risks of exit but is willing to gamble with millions of jobs regardless, he will say: 

At a time of falling living standards and with real wages dropping, walking away from the world’s largest single market could prove disastrous for our economy. 

And the truth is, I think David Cameron knows this. 

I know this may disappoint some of his own party, but there was little I could disagree with in David Cameron’s Bloomberg speech in 2013.

What I disagree with is his total lack of a strategy for delivering on the promise of that speech over two years later. 

Because the truth is that David Cameron and George Osborne have met with businesses like yours. They have travelled across the country to companies like this. And they have heard from employers the same thing I hear today. 

They know what is at stake. And yet they are still willing to risk millions of jobs for the sake of a handful of 1922 committee votes.  

On how Britain’s influence and impact within Europe has been undermined, he will say: 

In the past there have been a number of member states who aligned with Britain on key economic and political issues within the EU, but under David Cameron that camp has dwindled, and I believe that’s both bad for Britain and bad for Europe. 

Don’t take Labour’s word for it – it was the former President of the Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, who said Britain was previously “at the centre of decisions” but this was “no longer the case”. 

Even when Britain’s position has support from other member states – such as last year’s budget surcharge negotiations – EU leaders are becoming less and less likely to ally with David Cameron because they think he already has one foot out of the door. 

On Labour’s approach to Europe, he will say: 

The right approach for Britain is not exit from Europe, it is reform in Europe. 

Europe is as vital to Britain’s prosperity as NATO is to our security. 

That is why, from day one in office, a newly elected Labour government would set about enhancing the UK’s influence in Europe and would review, repair, and re-set relations with other EU states.  

We know Europe needs to change. And we know how we want to change it. 

We will seek reform of the EU budget and a zero-based review of spending on EU agencies. 

We will reform welfare so that people who come to work in our country have to contribute before they are eligible for benefits like Job Seeker’s Allowance. 

We will close loopholes in rules for agency workers so that they do not allow unscrupulous employers to undercut wages and conditions. 

We will work with Europe to give national parliaments more of a say in EU policy making as part of bigger reforms of the way Brussels operates and the way parliament scrutinises EU business. 

But what we won’t do – as David Cameron has – is use Britain’s membership of Europe as a party management tool. His willingness to gamble with Britain’s place in Europe is already creating instability for British businesses. 

On the Conservative Party’s approach to a referendum: 

The Conservatives approach is built on constantly shifting sands, which is adding to the risk and uncertainty for British business and jobs. 

Boris Johnson’s recent comments are the latest in a long line of examples of Conservative politicians now using the issue of a referendum to jockey for position within his own party. 

The very fact that Conservative politicians now seem more interested in talking about the possible date of a referendum, rather than about securing real change in Europe, shows that for them this debate is simply about securing exit. 

It is irresponsible for David Cameron to play with Britain’s future in this way. The better approach for Britain is to argue for reform in Europe and work with others to achieve it, rather than threatening to leave, putting jobs and investment at risk.