GMB leader Tim Roache said yesterday that the union is taking an “angry Remain” position in the referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. 

At his first conference since being elected general secretary last November, Mr Roache will rally members to turn out on June 23 to keep Britain in the EU in order to protect workers’ rights.

But the straight-talker sought to put distance between his union and the official Tory-dominated Remain campaign. 

“When people like Cameron and Osborne talk about reform, they’re talking about reform on behalf of big business in pursuit of profits,” he told Sky News. 

“What the GMB is talking about with our ‘angry Remain’ campaign is that Europe is far from perfect but we have to recognise that the facts are: Europe has brought many good working rights for working people. 

“Things like the right to four weeks guaranteed paid holiday, things like parental leave, things like health and safety legislation that means people return home at night in one piece to their loved ones. 

“So this ‘angry Remain’ isn’t half-hearted at all: It’s 100 per cent on Remain but recognising that Europe is far from perfect.”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was criticised at the weekend by Blairite former foreign secretary David Miliband for refusing to share a platform with the Tory Prime Minister. 

But at a rally in Newquay on Saturday, Mr Corbyn said that Mr Cameron was contributing to a “disappointing” debate by “talking an awful lot of waffle.”

Making the case for a Remain vote, he said that  Labour could “better stand up to global corporations with people who think the same as us across Europe.”

If Britain remains in the EU, Mr Corbyn said Labour’s priority would be to close loopholes in the posted workers directive to stop migrant workers being used by bosses to undercut wages and working conditions.

Labour MP and Leave campaigner Kate Hoey argued yesterday though that EU cannot be reformed. 

“The EU is corrupt, it’s dysfunctional, it’s working in the interests of multinationals, it’s not interested in social Europe any more,” she said. 

“If we had a Labour government, we could have even better rights. But we won’t have a Labour government unless we recognise we’re losing our supporters because of this ridiculous position we’ve taken on the EU.”