In or Out? Only two days left before the crucial vote.
Opinion polls on Tuesday showed growing support in Britain for staying in the European Union but the vote in two days’ time which will have far-reaching consequences for Britain and Europe remains too close to call.
Britons will vote on Thursday on whether to quit the 28-nation bloc following warnings from politicians, economists and trade bodies across the globe that a decision to leave would hurt Britain and possibly cause Europe to go into recession.
The EU bloc - already shaken by differences over migration and the future of the euro zone - would lose its second-largest economy, one of its top two military powers and by far its richest financial center.
Opinion polls published since the murder of pro-EU lawmaker Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed to death in her constituency in northern England last Thursday, have suggested sentiment might be moving towards an "In" vote.
Campaigning was suspended for three days after the killing, which led to soul searching about the campaign and its tone, with Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Cox's opposition Labour Party, saying her murder was likely "extreme political violence".
Some "Leave" campaigners accuse the "Remain" camp of exploiting the murder as part of what they portray as a campaign of scaremongering over the referendum by the establishment at home and abroad.
Turnout is predicted to be key to the result, and the ORB poll found that Remain supporters, who had been regarded as being more apathetic, were becoming increasingly motivated to vote as polling day approaches.
Prior to the murder of Cox, polls had shifted towards "Leave", and the indication that an "In" vote was now more likely has boosted British pound and shares. Britain's FTSE-100 shares index jumped 3 percent on Monday while in early trading on Tuesday, the British pound was at a three-week high against the dollar.
According to Betfair betting odds, the implied probability of a British vote to remain in the European Union was 75 percent.
The "Out" campaign argues that it is the anti-establishment choice, and its message that EU membership has handed political control to Brussels and led to uncontrolled immigration appears to have displeased many Britons.
That issue again gained prominence on Tuesday when Prime Minister David Cameron's former close aide Steve Hilton said the prime minister had been told four years ago that his target to reduce net immigration to Britain to the tens of thousands was impossible.
"We were told, directly and explicitly, that it was impossible for the government to meet its immigration target as long as we remained members of the EU, which of course insists on the free movement of people within in," Hilton, who has already said he backs Brexit, wrote in the Daily Mail newspaper.
Those wishing to stay in the bloc, including Cameron, have focused on what they describe as the economic advantages provided by EU membership and the risks posed by leaving.
The pro-EU camp, including former prime ministers Tony Blair and John Major, have warned that an exit could also trigger the break-up of the United Kingdom by prompting another Scottish independence vote if England pulled Scotland out of the EU.
The Remain camp not only boasts the support from the majority of senior business figures and world leaders such as U.S. President Barack Obama and Angela Merkel, but also well-known stars from stage, screen and sport.
On Tuesday, former England soccer captain and hugely-popular David Beckham added his voice to that list. "For our children and their children we should be facing the problems of the world together and not alone," he said.
