Voting stations across the country will close at 10 p.m. (5 p.m. Eastern) on Thursday.
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Voters in Britain are deciding Thursday whether the country should remain in the European Union – a historic vote that has exposed deep divisions over issues of sovereignty and national identity.
In a televised debate on Tuesday, London mayor Sadiq Khan and Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson slammed Boris Johnson, the former London mayor and leading Brexit proponent (though not a UKIP member), for lying about Turkey’s potential entrance to the European Union to stoke fears regarding border security and terrorism.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who has staked his political legacy on the referendum, implored people to vote to stay in the bloc at a final rally in Birmingham on the eve of voting.
Opinion polls have suggested that while big business is broadly in favour of staying in the European Union, small firms have been evenly split in what looks like a photo finish with one poll showing “Remain” at 45 per cent and “Leave” 44 per cent, with 11per cent undecided.
On Wednesday, campaigners from both sides tried to win over the estimated 10 percent of the 46.5 million electorate who polls suggest had still not decided which way to vote. Those who waver at the end tend to go for the status quo, which would favor the “remain” campaign.
There have been thunderstorms in London and south-east England which caused flooding overnight.
Polls by ComRes, conducted for the Daily Mail newspaper and ITV television, and by YouGov for The Times newspaper in LONDON, showed a last-minute rise in support for Britain to remain in the Eu.
European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, meanwhile, warned there would be no further renegotiation whatever the result, after EU leaders reached a deal on a new settlement for Britain in February.
The U.K.’s Electoral Commission said it expected the official result to be announced in Manchester at around 8 a.m. [0700 GMT] Friday.
Up to three million British jobs are linked to the UK’s membership in the world’s largest single market.
Almost 1,300 business leaders, including 51 of the FTSE 100, also signed a letter to The Times on Wednesday, backing Britain’s membership in the EU.
The referendum has raised concerns across Europe that a British withdrawal could trigger a domino effect of exit votes and threaten the integrity of the bloc, already under severe strain from Eurozone and migration crises.
The referendum will take place a week after the murder of pro-EU lawmaker Jo Cox shocked the country, raising questions about the tone of an increasingly bitter four-month campaign. It has urged voters to ignore what it calls the “establishment” which it says has the most to lose from Brexit.
“The departure of a country that is, geographically, historically, politically in the European Union would have extremely serious consequences”, he said.
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Thomas Mair, 52, has been charged with Cox’s murder and had his trial set for November at a court hearing on Thursday. A psychiatric report was requested.
