Brexit or not Polls show contradictory results

Two new opinion polls out on Wednesday show the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union ahead although a polling average still puts the “Remain” camp in the lead.

The findings surprised many commentators ahead of the June 23 referendum because most recent polls have given the “Remain” camp led by Prime Minister David Cameron a narrow lead.

One of the ICM polls for the Guardian newspaper was conducted online — where pollsters typically believe more voters say they want to leave the EU — and one was conducted by telephone.

The online vote showed 47 per cent would like to leave while 44 per cent backed Mr Cameron’s “Remain” campaign. A further nine per cent were undecided ahead of the June 23 vote.

In the telephone poll, 45 per cent said they favoured leaving while 42 per cent said they backed remaining. A total of 13 per cent did not know.

It was only the third phone poll in the campaign to put the “Leave” camp ahead.

“Our poll rather unhinges a few accepted orthodoxies,” ICM’s director, Martin Boon, told the Guardian.

On the other hand, the latest online opinion poll from YouGov for The Times newspaper shows that British voters are evenly split between “Remain” and “Leave” ahead of a June 23 referendum on whether to remain in the European Union.

The poll of 1,735 people, conducted on May 30-31, found that both camps were level on 41 per cent, with 13 per cent undecidedand 4 per cent not intending to vote.

Brexit campaigners, meanwhile on Wednesday, unveiled plans for an Australian-style points-based immigration system for EU workers if they win a referendum to pull Britain out of the EU.

“The automatic right of all EU citizens to come to live and work in the UK will end,” read a statement from campaign leaders including former London mayor Boris Johnson.