Support for Remain among Scots prompted Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to declare it “democratically unacceptable” for Scotland to be dragged out of the European Union, two years after voting to stay part of the United Kingdom. But, he says, “the closer things are in Sunderland, the better things will be for Remain”.
Advertisement
The ComRes analysis said that “Across all factors, reaction to Leave vote is more negative post-2pm”. If Britain votes to leave the European Union, it would be the first country to do so.
An Ipsos/MORI poll released earlier that did not include responses taken Thursday showed a 52-48 lead for “Remain”.
POLLS for the European Union referendum open bright and early at 7am.
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron described the result as a “great injustice to future generations”.
“Rising anticipation that “Remain” will win the vote is driving the market”, said John Plassard, a senior equity-sales trader at Mirabaud Securities in Geneva.
The broad trends indicate that the side in favour of “Brexit”, or Britains exit from the 28-member economic bloc, was showing a stronger performance than initially expected.
Addressing “Leave” supporters at a results party in London as UK broadcasters began to call the referendum results in their favor, UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage said the country was marking its “Independence Day”.
The heads of the EU’s main institutions said in a statement that they want Britain to act on the vote “as soon as possible, however painful that process may be”.
There as elsewhere, turnout appeared high.
Officials in the territory have pointed to a voter turnout of 84%, against a 74% turnout in the Gibraltar Parliament election previous year.
While Clackmannanshire, Isles of Scilly, Camden and Harrow voted to remain. These areas will tally the ballots cast.
That was certainly the case in Newcastle, a city which had been expected to deliver a resounding victory for “remain”.
By 2.30am, the FT adds, party activists around the country will probably have a good idea how it’s going – with only two options to choose from, it should be easier to judge how the ballots are stacking up on either side as they are being counted.
Election forecasting experts said that for Leave to win now, it would represent an even bigger polling error than was seen ahead of 2015 or 1992 General Elections.
The decision closes months of tough campaigning on either side.
Affecting that turnout were torrential rains, especially in the “remain” stronghold of London. A handful of polling stations were forced to close because of flooding. But the campaign soon went off script, as Justice Secretary Michael Gove and London Mayor Boris Johnson – friends and sparring partners of Cameron’s since his days at Oxford – both declared their intention to campaign for “out”.
But it’s far from clear that the latest shift in the polls indicates Britons will vote one way or the other, the bank said. “Talk about lame ducks”.
Sterling has rallied 7.0 per cent in the past week as investors grew more confident that a Brexit, with all the associated market uncertainty and volatility most analysts anticipated such an outcome would unleash, would ultimately be avoided.
Advertisement
“One of the deeper headlines from tomorrow, of a narrow victory either way, is that wider Europe has got to learn the lesson about how to re-engage with ordinary publics”, he said.
