Leave and Remain camps intensify campaign

As the vote to Remain or Leave the EU approaches, both sides are stepping up their campaigns, with the Remain campaign focusing on the economic dangers of Brexit, while the Leave campaign is painting a scary scenario of an uncontrolled immigration if the UK stays in the EU. Amid the feverish atmosphere, the Remain campaign received a major boost on Monday from the British trade unions representing six million workers, urging their members to vote to stay in the European Union, warning that the Brexit would threaten workers’ rights.

Playing on the rights, 10 union leaders wrote a letter to the Guardian newspaper claiming that parental leave and holiday rights would be under threat without EU protection. This appeal to six million workers is well-timed to
advance the cause of Stay campaign.
“Maternity and paternity rights, equal treatment for full-time, part-time and agency workers and the right to paid leave — continue to underpin and protect working rights for British people,” read the letter.
The union leaders gave the workers an option to choose between their rights and the Brexit. “If Britain leaves the EU, The Tories would negotiate our exit and, we believe, would negotiate away our rights.”
As the campaign intensifies, former British Prime Minister John Major launched a blistering attack on Sunday on fellow Conservatives campaigning for a Brexit. He described the Leave vote as misleading and deceitful. Major was reacting to an accusation by Boris Johnson, the former Conservative mayor of London, that voters “cannot trust” government promises that Britain would not be forced to contribute to any future Eurozone bailouts.
Johnson and other senior figures in Leave vote warned that staying in the EU risked trying “tying ourselves to a broken Eurozone economy”.
Less than three weeks from the Big Vote, the gap between the two campaigns has been closing. A YouGov poll for ITV found 45 percent would choose “Leave” at the June 23 referendum, compared with 41 percent picking “Remain”. A separate survey by TNS showed 43 percent for “Leave” and 41 percent for “Remain”.
Following the poll surveys, the pound slumped to a three-week low after polls showed more Britons favour exiting the European Union, reviving concern the referendum will throw global markets into turmoil and undermine confidence in the 28-nation trading bloc.
The pound dropped 0.9% to $1.4394 in London on Monday after sliding to $1.4353, the lowest level since May 16. One-month implied volatility in the pound-dollar pair surged to 21.5 percent, the highest since February 2009.
The Bank of England has voiced worry that uncertainty surrounding the referendum vote is damping UK growth, while international institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, are warning of dire fallout if Britain votes to quit the EU.
The fallout also reached the euro that weakened against the dollar on Monday on concern a UK exit would damage trade and encourage other members to renegotiate their relationships with the EU. The single currency slid 0.2% to $1.1342.
Either way, the Vote will create a political hiccup in the UK. Even after the result, the two camps will exist in a way or another. But one thing is certain; a total divorce of Britain from the EU even in case of exit isn’t on the cards.