The campaign in support of a so-called Brexit,
or the U.K. leaving the European Union, has edged ahead of those in
favor of remaining in the 28-country bloc, according to a weekly survey released Tuesday by polling agency ICM.
The "Leave" campaign saw a lead of 1 percent over the "Stay" camp, with
45 and 44 percent support, respectively, and 11 percent of respondents
saying they were undecided.
The referendum on the U.K.'s membership in the
EU is slated to take place June 23, following a campaign promise made
by Prime Minister David Cameron in the run-up to the 2015 general
elections. The main issues at stake in the referendum concern the U.K.'s
ability to protect itself, its economic prowess and its national
sovereignty.
While the results of the ICM poll put the
Leave campaign ahead, the race is predicted to be very close, and
numerous other polls have put the Stay side slightly ahead. The Leave side held 43 percent support
and the Stay side 46 percent, according to the Financial Times Brexit
poll tracker, which takes the average of recently available polling
data.
British Prime Minister David Cameron addresses the Conservative Spring Forum in central London, April 9, 2016. Photo: REUTERS/Kerry Davies/Pool
Proponents of a Brexit have argued the U.K.
would have more control over its immigration and therefore its safety
and sovereignty outside of the EU, while saying that the strength of
London as an international financial hub would remain potent with or
without the EU. Those against a Brexit say part of what has kept the
U.K. safe and economically thriving has been its membership in the
28-country bloc and its single market.
A continentwide migration crisis, as well as
the threat of domestic terror, has intensified the already heated debate
ahead of the referendum this summer. More than 1 million people sought
asylum in Europe in 2015 as conflicts throughout the Middle East and
North Africa escalated throughout the year. The European Commission
instituted a quota system for distributing refugees among its member
states, and the U.K. has complained that it is being strong-armed into
taking economic migrants, despite refusing many of the terms first
proposed by the commission.
At the same time, fear of domestic terror has
grown following terrorist attacks on Paris and Brussels in the past
year. In both cases, the attackers were EU nationals who could travel
freely in most of Europe because of the free-travel Schengen agreement. The U.K. has never been part of Schengen, however, and therefore has passport controls along its borders.
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