As polling in Britain on whether to Remain or Leave the European Union nears the end, surveys show that the results could still go either way. “Leave” carried the day in the northeastern English city of Sunderland by 61 per cent to 39 per cent, amid turnout of 65 per cent. In Newcastle, just 21 km away, Remain prevailed by 50.7 per cent to 49.3 per cent with turnout of almost 68 per cent, EFE news agency reported. The organisation revealed that while the two sides are extremely close, the Remain camp edges it slightly with 51% in favour of staying in the EU.
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British broadcasters are not conducting so-called exit polls – in which people are asked as they leave polling stations how they voted – because the European Union referendum is a virtually unprecedented event and the margin of error could be too large.
YouGov’s 2014 Scottish referendum poll showed the campaign against independence winning with 54 percent of the vote.
“If we vote out, that is it. It is irreversible”.
Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday made a last-minute plea to British voters not to give up the “best of both worlds” by voting to remain in the EU.
Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said: “Today’s referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union is arguably the biggest risk event of the year and with a number of polls suggesting the race is neck and neck, I would expect the markets to be quite volatile at times over the next 24 hours”. “I hope that the British have decided against a Brexit”.
Odds on a Brexit outcome at the Betfair betting exchange have slumped from 40 percent last Thursday before the killing of pro-EU lawmaker Jo Cox to as low as 12 percent on Thursday. In fact, the impact will be most felt by the generations to come.
While Cameron has repeatedly stressed that the 2015 General Election has given him the mandate to continue irrespective of the result, the bitter campaign had exposed a deep divide within his own Conservative party. Telephone polls were universal in favoring “remain” in the final week of the campaign, but had waivered toward “leave” about 10 days before the vote. Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh and inner London all delivered strong Remain votes.
“There are far more places where “leave” are doing better than expected”.
“The referendum is now pulling in voters who had previously managed to tune out the fierce rhetoric of the campaign”. Official results are not expected until later in the day.
The financial markets had also signalled a more stable result throughout the week with the Pound Sterling holding strong.
Polling stations open from 7am and close at 10pm, so whether you vote before work, after work, during your lunch break or on your way home from taking the kids to school, we all have time to put a cross in the box.
But he walked back those comments later, telling reporters at a “leave” party in central London that “maybe just under half, maybe just over half of the country” had voted to pull Britain out of the EU.
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The seismic difference of opinion between voters in England and Wales and those in Scotland and Northern Ireland has led to concerns that the United Kingdom may not be “united” for very much longer.
