Britons vote on EU membership after bitter campaign

Britons voted on whether to quit the European Union in a bitterly-contested referendum on Thursday that polarised the nation and could change the face of Europe.

Financial markets, on edge for weeks over the uncertain outcome, rose on the strength of late polls that showed a swing towards staying in, but the bulk of recent polls have suggested the outcome was too close to call.

If Britain becomes the first state to exit the EU, the so-called Brexit would be the biggest blow to the 28-nation bloc since its foundation. The EU would be stripped of its second-biggest economy and one of its two main military powers, and could face calls for similar votes by anti-EU politicians in other countries.

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

A Brexit vote would also deal a potentially fatal blow to the career of Prime Minister David Cameron, who called the referendum and campaigned for the country to stay in, against a Leave camp led by rivals from within his own Conservative party.

After four months of campaigning, polling stations opened at 0600 GMT (11:30 IST)and were due to close at 2100 (2:30 IST), with results expected to be announced by the 382 individual local counting areas between around 0100 (6:30 IST) and 0300 (8:30 IST) on Friday.

The Leave campaign says Britain would recover full sovereignty and the economy would benefit from a Brexit. It focused its campaign on warnings that Britain would be unable to control immigration levels as long as it was an EU member.

Remain says a Brexit would cause financial chaos, impoverish the nation and diminish its influence on world affairs, emphasising the economic benefits of membership and the risks posed by leaving.

The campaign was suspended for three days after the killing of pro-EU member of parliament Jo Cox a week ago, which prompted soul-searching about the vicious tone of the debate.

An Ipsos MORI poll for the Evening Standard newspaper found support for Remain on 52 per cent and Leave on 48 per cent. A Populus poll put Remain 10 points ahead on 55 per cent. Both were conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday.