Polls on United Kingdom referendum’s eve give boost to ‘remain’ camp, pound

An online Populus poll, the last conducted before voting began, gave Remain a 10-point lead, 55 to 45, its strongest performance in days.

The euro touched a six-week high of $1.1421 against the dollar, also on the back of increased odds that Britain will remain in the 28-member European bloc.

With Scotland also voting in favour of European Union membership, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said a second independence referendum was “highly likely”.

Roger: “Leave. The EU has become increasingly expensive and increasingly undemocratic, and I’ve been concerned for many years now”.

This poll will be a cause for concern for Leave campaigners, given how close YouGov came in the Scottish referendum a year ago.

Before the British vote, exchanges, market regulators and banks moved to tighten risk-management systems.

In some areas, booths had to be shut and moved to a different location due to water-logging but the general spirit remained on a high throughout the day.

As dawn broke over the UK Friday, Britons woke to the tremors of a political natural disaster the likes of which most had never felt before.

If it votes to stay, Britain has been promised a special status exempting it from any further political integration, but European leaders will still have to address a sharp rise in euroscepticism across the continent.

British voters have finished casting their ballots in a referendum on whether the country stays in the European Union or exits it – “Brexit”, a move which would send shockwaves through the continent’s politics and the global economy.

“We’ve done it! We’ve won!” anti-EU campaigners shouted at a party in Westminster, popping open champagne bottles as “Leave” victories flowed in.

“My guess is, the rally we’ve seen this week is probably “buy on the rumor” and that if they do vote to remain I wouldn’t expect to see much more in the way of upside”, said Ed Keon, managing director and portfolio manager for QMA. The pound was last up 1.05 percent at $1.4852. Voters have the option to mark a cross next to either “Should remain in the EU” or “Should Leave the EU”, with the winning side needing more than half of all votes cast. A number of banks and hedge funds are reported to have commissioned private exit polls.

Charlene: “I voted to remain”. Numerous hedge funds had commissioned their own exclusive exit polls at a cost of up to 500,000 pounds, which asked people how they voted on their way out of polling stations.

Scotland and Northern Ireland appear to have opted for Remain and London has voted emphatically to stay in the EU.

There are 382 counting areas in total, varying in size from 1,700 to 700,000 eligible voters.

Historian Simon Schama described the results as a “catastrophe”, and warned of bleak times ahead if the United Kingdom does formally split from the EU.

Once the final result has been declared, a breakdown of the results will be released on a local and regional level.