EU referendum: Final push for votes on last day of campaign

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,429
1,668
113
Politicians are making their final pitch for votes on the last day of campaigning before the EU referendum.

David Cameron, Jeremy Corbyn and Tim Farron will address rallies arguing the UK will be better off and safer with a Remain vote in Thursday's poll.

Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage will each address supporters - with the ex-London mayor urging people to "believe in our country".

The UK public are being asked to choose whether the UK should stay in the European Union or leave in the first vote on the UK's links with Europe for more than 40 years.

The four-month campaign comes to a close on Wednesday, with campaigners making a last-minute appeal to undecided voters, emphasising their main arguments and encouraging their supporters to turn out to vote.


Provisional figures released by the Electoral Commission on Tuesday suggest 46,499,537 people are eligible to vote in the referendum - a record number for a UK-wide poll.

EU referendum: Final push for votes on last day of campaign


BBC News
22 June 2016


Leave's Boris Johnson started the day with a visit to Billingsgate fish market in London

Politicians are making their final pitch for votes on the last day of campaigning before the EU referendum.

David Cameron, Jeremy Corbyn and Tim Farron will address rallies arguing the UK will be better off and safer with a Remain vote in Thursday's poll.

Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage will each address supporters - with the ex-London mayor urging people to "believe in our country".

More than 46 million people are eligible to vote in the referendum.

The UK public are being asked to choose whether the UK should stay in the European Union or leave in the first vote on the UK's links with Europe for more than 40 years.

The four-month campaign comes to a close on Wednesday, with campaigners making a last-minute appeal to undecided voters, emphasising their main arguments and encouraging their supporters to turn out to vote.

Mr Cameron, who will campaign alongside ex-PM Sir John Major before addressing the Remain campaign's closing rally this evening, has told the BBC that the decision will be irreversible and there will no coming back if the UK votes to leave.

"You can't jump out the aeroplane and then clamber back through the cockpit hatch," he told BBC Radio 4's Today.

Leaving the EU would be a "massive problem" for the UK, he said, doing "untold damage" to economic growth, jobs and family finances and hindering the opportunities and life chances of future generations.

"If I had to sum up this entire campaign in a word, it would be that word 'together'. I think together we are better able to face the challenges from terrorism and climate change, we are better able to grow our economies, better able to drive good trade deals... and I want us to get the good deals so we give better chances to everyone in our country."

Mr Cameron said he "did not believe there were any risks from staying" in the EU, saying the eurozone was beginning to recover economically and this would have an effect on levels of migration into the UK after what he said was an "abnormal period".

He also said he would lobby for further changes to free movement rules in the light of European Court rulings if the UK votes to remain and said the process of EU reform will "continue on Friday", insisting that reducing net migration was "not an unrealistic ambition".

But Boris Johnson and other Leave campaigners said only a vote to leave the EU could give the UK the freedom it needs to set its own course, rejecting the economic forecasts suggesting the country would face a downturn following Brexit.

Speaking in Billingsgate fish market ahead of embarking on a whirlwind tour of England, the former mayor of London urged people to "believe in our country" and seize the moment.


Remain's David Cameron will campaign alongside Sir John Major and leading Labour and Lib Dem politicians later

"This is a crucial time, lots of people will be making up their minds, and I hope very much they will believe in our country, believe in what we can do," he said.

"It's time to have a totally new relationship with our friends and partners across the Channel. It's time to speak up for democracy, and hundreds of millions of people around Europe agree with us. It's time to break away from the failing and dysfunctional EU system.

"What you have seen over the last few years is a huge gulf opening up and widening between the incomes of FTSE 100 chieftains and people on the shop floor on low incomes who have basically seen either a pay freeze or in real terms their wages come down."



UKIP leader Nigel Farage will make his final speech of the campaign later urging EU exit while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will appear alongside Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to make the case for Labour voters to back a Remain vote.

Mr Corbyn has sent a message to Labour supporters that "leaving the EU would hurt our economy - which would mean fewer jobs and less money for our NHS and other vital public services".

The two campaigns clashed over the economy and immigration on Tuesday night in front of thousands of people at Wembley Arena in the BBC Great Debate. The final debate of the campaign will take place on Channel 4 on Wednesday evening.

Provisional figures released by the Electoral Commission on Tuesday suggest 46,499,537 people are eligible to vote in the referendum - a record number for a UK-wide poll.


One of the last televised debates of the EU in/out referendum campaign, shown live on BBC One last night, at Wembley Arena in the shadow of Wembley Stadium, saw three Leavers (including former London Mayor Boris Johnson) take on three Remainers (including current London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson) in front of an audience of around 6,000



EU referendum: Final push for votes on last day of campaign - BBC News
 
Last edited:

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,429
1,668
113


The most ridiculous moments of the EU referendum

By Del Crookes BBC Newsbeat reporter
22 June 2016



The EU Referendum campaign seems like it's being going on for months. Because it has. It officially kicked off on 15 April.


And there have been some pretty crazy moments in those 10 weeks since.

Each side - Leave and Remain (in alphabetical order) - had £7m to spend on advertising, a free mail shot, TV broadcasts and £600,000 of public funds.

So how did they do?

You can read every detail from the campaign trail at the BBC's dedicated EU Referendum page.

These are some of the maddest moments from the campaign trail.

There was a mock sea battle on the Thames - really

Last week the EU Referendum got a bit silly.



Leave campaigner Nigel Farage sailed a fishing boat up the Thames to urge Parliament to take back control of British waters from the EU.

But he was met by an angry Remain supporter - Bob Geldof - who of course had a boat of his own. He even stuck his fingers up at the UKIP politician. How rude.

Nobody noticed the person at the back holding the sign up the wrong way

The former rock star yelled that the UKIP leader was "no fisherman's friend" - Mr Farage then accused Mr Geldof of "mocking" impoverished fishermen.

Nigel Farage gets very excited by the London Eye

Boris Johnson doesn't like live reporting when he's speaking


The former London mayor and Tory MP has been campaigning for the UK to leave the EU.

Here's Boris Johnson with a rather large fish in Lowestoft, Suffolk...

Boris also wielded a circular saw in Christchurch, Dorset, during the campaign

But he doesn't like it when reporters do live reports when he's giving a speech.

At one rally in Manchester Channel 4 News's political correspondent Michael Crick tried to give an update on TV but was spotted by Boris, who put a stop to it by getting the crowd to interrupt him.

Follow


Channel 4 News ✔
@Channel4News


This is the moment @BorisJohnson MP urges the crowd to interrupt @MichaelLCrick's live report from a #Brexit rally

7:37 PM - 15 Apr 2016

772 Retweet 551 Likes
But like the trooper he is, Michael Crick carried on after a member of the audience tried to stop him.

He was however banned from a rally this week - according to the journalist himself.

Michael Crick ✔
@MichaelLCrick

Vote Leave have banned me from today's Boris Johnson rally in London, because, says aide Robert Oxley, I "took the piss" at past events

10:37 AM - 19 Jun 2016

1,934 Retweets 1,567 Likes


There were ridiculous songs everywhere during the campaign

The Leave campaign stole a march on the competition way back in February with this parody track.


There was a track trying to get younger voters to actually vote from the Remain camp.

It used the hashtag #VotingToTheBeat and lyrics include "There's a big black sky over Albion, our economy's crushed and our jobs are down," all to the tune of Robyn's Dancing On My Own.


Warning: This third party video contains swearing and may contain adverts


The Britain Stronger in Europe (BSE!) campaign also released a video to try and entice younger voters which featured lots of strobe lights and skydiving and no politicians or campaign logos.

It was widely panned on social media for being condescending after it used words like Workin, Learnin, Earnin, Shoppin, Ravin, Chattin, Roamin, Makin - oh - I see what they're doing.

Stronger In ✔
@StrongerIn

Life's better in the EU. On June 23rd, make sure you're #Votin http://ukstronger.in/votin

3:05 PM - 24 May 2016

95 Retweets 51 Likes


UKIP launched this Leave campaign video this week - featuring chickens debating whether to leave a dark and oppressive-looking warehouse.


Animals were also used during campaigning - mainly cats

#CatsAgainstBrexit - that is all.

The Twitter hashtag was apparently started by someone called Lilian Edwards, who works at the University of Strathclyde.



Lilian Edwards
@lilianedwards

My cat is sad because #Brexit. If you agree RT w your cat. #CatsAgainstBrexit.

Come on guys, viral time!!!

3:16 PM - 18 Jun 2016

83 Retweets 101 Likes


That led to these...



Daniel Hannan ✔
@DanHannanMEP

I asked @RealGrumpyCat what she thought of #CatsAgainstBrexit. She wasn't impressed.

4:50 PM - 20 Jun 2016

1,213 Retweets 2,215 Likes




Louise Johnson
@LouiseJJohnson

Honestly I think cats would vote out, but then immediately miaow loudly to get back in again. #CatsAgainstBrexit

10:12 PM - 20 Jun 2016

1,094 Retweets 1,651 Likes





Pippa Gibbs
@pippajo30

We're in he's out. 2 against 1. #CatsAgainstBrexit

6:39 PM - 20 Jun 2016

379 Retweets 746 Likes



Will Young's taking over the Leave campaign bus

Yes - stop those sn iggers at the back, he is still releasing music.



The former Pop Idol winner (back in 2002) is actually taking over the "Brexit battle bus" to take him to Glastonbury after it went out of Leave service on Wednesday.



Chris Gibson ✔
@ChrisGibsonNews

Fun fact - Apparently @vote_leave bus goes out of service on Weds. It then becomes Will Young's tour bus for #glasto

1:04 PM - 20 Jun 2016

314 Retweets 224 Likes

And an old Margaret Thatcher EU jumper's back on sale




The last time the UK had a referendum on staying in the EU was way back in 1975.

The Tories had joined the EEC, as it was known then, in 1973 but Labour won a general election in 1974 and promised people that they'd have their say on whether we continued to be members or not.

Britain stayed in.

The last UK referendum on the EU was so long ago - the photo of Margaret Thatcher in her "9 flags" jumper is in black and white

But one of the standout moments was then Tory MP Margaret Thatcher's "9 flags" jumper (because there were nine countries in the EU in those days).



Matthew Francis
@DrMJFrancis

Jeremy Paxman has Margaret Thatcher's EEC jumper! Or at least a suspiciously similar replica. #ThatcherBham

4:16 PM - 7 Jun 2016

4 Retweets 6 Likes


If you want one it'll set you back though - they're on sale for £45.

And there were branded Leave condoms of course.



Dean Burnett
@garwboy

"Well I was undecided about how to vote in the EU referendum, but then I saw this condom packet..." - Nobody. Ever.

4:32 PM - 23 Feb 2016

162 Retweets 113 Likes


Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat


The most ridiculous moments of the EU referendum - BBC Newsbeat
 
Last edited:

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,429
1,668
113
hey BL, this getting much air time in the UK lately?


I think Sky News or BBC News may have played it once or twice, but I've not heard it that often.

I've just voted - about ten minutes ago at just gone 10 am, at St William of York Roman Catholic Primary School, which is actually full of Muslims - in the referendum.



Here's a little quiz for people to take part in. It's multiple choice, so it'll be a little bit easier:

Q: Which way did I vote in this EU in/out referendum?

A: Remain B: Leave
 

Tecumsehsbones

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 18, 2013
55,644
7,100
113
Washington DC
Here's a little quiz for people to take part in. It's multiple choice, so it'll be a little bit easier:

Q: Which way did I vote in this EU in/out referendum?

A: Remain B: Leave
I got an easier version than that. Since you're the only Brit here, I think you can re-do it as:

Q: Which way did I vote in this EU in/out referendum?

A: We're not Brits, you simpleton. We can't vote in the referendum.
 

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,429
1,668
113
Leave enjoy 2 point lead in latest poll

Leave enjoyed a two-point lead in a TNS poll of 2,320 UK adults, which found 43% saying they will vote to withdraw from the EU, 41 per cent to remain and 16 per cent either undecided or not planning to vote.

New TNS poll has 2pt lead for Leave. But there's a *very* dramatic footnote: Leave has 7pt lead among likely voters. pic.twitter.com/Nx66e7ipdA
— James Ball (@jamesrbuk) June 22, 2016

The company's head of social and political attitudes, Luke Taylor, said, "With many members of the public still undecided or not planning to vote there is uncertainty around the outcome of the referendum.

TNS shows swing to Remain - late swing and aversion of Brexit possible. Tho it is TNS, so you know, pinch of salt, etc.
— Stephen Bush (@stephenkb) June 22, 2016


"Our latest poll suggests that Leave is in a stronger position than Remain, but it should be noted that in the Scottish independence referendum and the 1995 Quebec independence referendum there was a late swing to the status quo and it is possible that the same will happen here"

TNS UK surveyed 2,320 adults between June 16 and 22.

Leave given marginal poll lead hours before Brits start voting as European Commission president warns there will be no further renegotiation with Brussels

According to people interviewed on Sky News late last night, comments by the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker that there will be no further UK renegotiation with Brussels if it votes for Brexit has angered many voters and persuaded many undecideds over to Leave, whilst another person interviewed has said that a group of people in the office that he works at were going to vote Remain but are now voting Leave after Juncker's comments.
 

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,429
1,668
113
Go Brexit!

What time do the polls close, Princess? When can we expect the official tally?

The polling stations close at 10pm. It's now 11.42am.

The results will probably be known at around 7am tomorrow, maybe a bit earlier, maybe even a bit later.


Call Me Dave and SamCam voting Remain. Farage voting Leave
 

Tecumsehsbones

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 18, 2013
55,644
7,100
113
Washington DC
The polling stations close at 10pm. It's now 11.42am.

The results will probably be known at around 7am tomorrow, maybe a bit earlier, maybe even a bit later.
Thanks. Guess I'll find out when I get up.

Wonder what Thatcher would think, being as how she was so gung-ho to get into the EU.

By the way, you do realize that color photography was common in 1975, right? Leastways in developed countries. Don't know about Briddin.
 

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,429
1,668
113
Thanks. Guess I'll find out when I get up.

Wonder what Thatcher would think, being as how she was so gung-ho to get into the EU.

She was a bit of a Europhile back in 1975, the last time we had an EU in/out referendum. Back then, the Tories were mainly pro-EU and the Labour Party were anti-EU. Now it's the other way round, with the Tories mainly anti-EU and the Labour Party mainly pro-EU. I think over the years Thatcher became more of a Eurosceptic, and had she been around today she'd be supporting the Leave campaign.

By the way, you do realize that color photography was common in 1975, right? Leastways in developed countries. Don't know about Briddin.

Black and white photography was still quite common in 1975.

Here's a colour photo of Thatcher wearing her "nine flags" jumper (there were then nine countries in what was then known as the EEC - it didn't become known as the EU until 1993) during the 1975 EU referendum.



We voted Remain in that referendum and had to wait 41 years until we got another one. I hope, if this is a Remain vote, we don't have to wait another bloody 41 years till we get another referendum.
 
Last edited:

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,429
1,668
113
Final results in:

50/50



One side will probably still have slightly more votes, though.

But if that is also a draw (unlikely, but possible) I suppose it means the referendum will have to be re-held.

Here's the ballot paper:



I wish I'd taken a pen rather than using the pencil provided in order to prevent my cross being rubbed out and a new cross put in the Remain box.
 

Tecumsehsbones

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 18, 2013
55,644
7,100
113
Washington DC
She was a bit of a Europhile back in 1975, the last time we had an EU in/out referendum. Back then, the Tories were mainly pro-EU and the Labour Party were anti-EU. Now it's the other way round, with the Tories mainly anti-EU and the Labour Party mainly pro-EU. I think over the years Thatcher became more of a Eurosceptic, and had she been around today she'd be supporting the Leave campaign.
Funny how the parties switch every now and then, enit? Heck back before the mid-1960s, the Democrats were the party of racists over here.

Nowadays it's both of them, but the Republicans are leading the charge.



Black and white photography was still quite common in 1975.
I think journalistic integrity was also more common in Briddin back then, too.
 

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,429
1,668
113
Funny how the parties switch every now and then, enit? Heck back before the mid-1960s, the Democrats were the party of racists over here.

Nowadays it's both of them, but the Republicans are leading the charge.

It's also funny how individual politicians change over the years.

For years Cameron was a eurosceptic. But now that we are actually having a vote on the matter he's suddenly become a europhile. Why the change of heart? My betting is that, in reality, he is still a eurosceptic but he's supporting the Remain campaign in this referendum in order to enhance his post-Downing Street career prospects. I reckon he's after a big job at somewhere like Goldman Sachs, and him taking a pro-EU stance and then winning the referendum will help him get such a job. Goldman Sachs supports Remain.

And then there's Home Secretary Theresa May. Again, for years she was a committed eurosceptic. But now all of a sudden, during the referendum campaign, she's becoming a europhile. Now I reckon she's changed her views because she wants to become Tory leader and Prime Minister and she probably thinks supporting the Remain side in this referendum will help her achieve those goals.


I think journalistic integrity was also more common in Briddin back then, too.

Possibly. I do know that British journalists had better standards of grammar and punctuation back in 1975.
 

Tecumsehsbones

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 18, 2013
55,644
7,100
113
Washington DC
Possibly. I do know that British journalists had better standards of grammar and punctuation back in 1975.
Don't get me started.

Too late.

The Washington Post likes to think of itself as the country's flagship newspaper. Off the top of my head:

- A shootout was described as "a fuselage of bullets."

- Complete failure to understand the difference between "born" and "borne."

- An unfortunate event described as a "bum rap." (Yank slang. Such a thing is a "bad rap." A "bum rap" is false charges.)

- A gun that a policeman's son took to school referred to in the same article as both a "semi-automatic handgun" and "his father's service revolver." Musta been one heck of a gun.
 

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,429
1,668
113
Don't get me started.

Too late.

The Washington Post likes to think of itself as the country's flagship newspaper. Off the top of my head:

- A shootout was described as "a fuselage of bullets."

- Complete failure to understand the difference between "born" and "borne."

- An unfortunate event described as a "bum rap." (Yank slang. Such a thing is a "bad rap." A "bum rap" is false charges.)

- A gun that a policeman's son took to school referred to in the same article as both a "semi-automatic handgun" and "his father's service revolver." Musta been one heck of a gun.


The Grauniad even once misspelled its name - hence its nickname.