London: Millions of Britons began voting on Thursday in a bitterly-fought, knife-edge referendum that could tear up the island nation’s EU membership and spark the greatest emergency of the bloc’s 60-year history. A record 46.5 million voters have registered to decide Britain’s future in the 28-nation European Union, which was born out of a determination to unite in lasting peace after the carnage of two world wars.
Across much of southeast England, many voters braved torrential rain to have their say in a battle fought on two main fronts: immigration and the economy. Experts have predicted a high turnout. The once-in-a-generation referendum asks: “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?”
In one of the last opinion polls before the vote, “Remain” took a lead with 48 per cent against “Leave” on 42 per cent. Two other polls published on the eve of the referendum had put the “Leave” camp ahead by one or two points, well within the margin of error.
Using the hashtag #ivoted, some people posted mobile phone images of their completed ballot papers on Twitter. Election authorities had asked voters to refrain from taking selfies. “Our polling station had a queue of people waiting to get in at 7 am,” voter Nick Turner in northwestern Cumbria said on Twitter. Under clear skies in Glasgow, Scotland, people were waiting to cast a ballot.
