Britain votes on European Union: In or out

A Brexit-themed artwork by satirical artist Kaya Mar depicts UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage and former London mayor Boris Johnson riding a “Brexit cart” in London. (Photo: AFP)

Britons were voting on Thursday on whether to stay in the European Union in a referendum that has split the nation and is being nervously watched by financial markets and politicians across the world.

An Ipsos MORI poll for the Evening Standard newspaper, conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday, suggested support for “Remain” stood at 52 per cent while “Leave” was on 48 per cent.

Two other polls published late on Wednesday also suggested a modest late swing towards “Remain”, but the overall picture was of a vote that was too close to forecast.

Much will depend on turnout, with younger Britons seen as more supportive of the EU than their elders but less likely to vote.

There was anger mixed with hope on Thursday as locals voted in the landmark referendum.

Citing exasperation at uncontrolled migration and a fierce desire for independence from Brussels, a string of voters said they wanted Britain out of the EU for good.

“I’m going to feel British again,” said Diane Booth, a 69-year-old pensioner, adding that she wanted Britain to be self-sufficient so it did not have to rely on European food imports.

“I think we’ve got enough here,” she said at a polling station in Romford, Havering’s main town. “We’ve got pigs in this country, we’ve got chicken in this country!”

However, not everyone in Romford shared similar views. Kate Garnham, a 47-year-old brand manager, said leaving the EU would be “awful”.

“People have been too sceptical about what the ‘Remain’ campaign has to say,” she said, adding that the rival claims had been “very confusing”.

Prime Minister David Cameron called the referendum under pressure from his ruling Conservative Party and an increasingly powerful anti-EU party, hoping to put to rest decades of debate over Britain’s place in Europe and its ties with Brussels. “Go out and vote remain for a bigger, better Britain inside a reformed European Union,” Mr Cameron told “Remain” campaigners.

His main rival, former London mayor Boris Johnson, whose decision to support “Leave” galvanised its campaign, told voters this was the “last chance to sort this out”.

Most opinion polls put the “Leave” and “Remain” camps neck-and-neck at the end of a campaign that was dominated by immigration and the economy and shaken by the murder of a pro-EU MP, though late on Wednesday two showed a swing to “Remain”.

Traders, investors and companies are preparing for volatility on financial markets whatever the outcome of a vote that both reflects, and has fuelled, an anti-establishment mood also seen in the US and elsewhere in Europe.

The “Leave” campaign says Britain’s economy would benefit from a Brexit, or British exit. Mr Cameron says it would cause financial chaos.