Britain’s on-off love affair with the European Union could finally be over for now – depending on whether you follow the polls or the bookies.
No doubts persist in the minds of bookmakers – all 22 listed on the comparison site Oddschecker come down in favour of a remain result.
Pollsters take the opposite view, with many recent surveys throwing up a slender victory by the Leave campaign.
Obviously no one can predict the future, but the bookies tend to call elections right, while the polls get it wrong.
Certainly just about every market research firm backed a Labour win in the last election and for the Scots to vote for independence.
Bookies tend to get the odds right
They really could not have been more wrong as the Tories barnstormed to an election win and the Scots averred to staying as part of the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, Leave talisman Boris Johnson has had a quiet week as Labour tries to mobilise members in a mass remain vote.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage has stepped up to take his place with publicity stunts gone wrong.
First, he took to the Thames in a pleasure boat to lead a small fleet of fishing vessels along the river to protest outside the Houses of Parliament.
Unfortunately, his stunt was hijacked by remain campaigners led by rock start Bob Geldof in a bigger and louder boat who heckled Farage mercilessly over the PA system. Farage retreated below deck to avoid the fracas.
Osborne emergency budget warning
Next day, Farage toured Westminster in his purple bus, but had remain activists unfurling their posters behind him as he spoke on TV.
Leader Jeremey Corbyn, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other senior party and union figures are all aggressively campaigning in the north of England to garner support from working voters.
Chancellor George Osborne has faced the ire of Tory MPs by claiming a Brexit would result in an emergency budget to raise income tax by 2p together with another round of NHS and state pension spending cuts to cover a £30 billion spending deficit.
Around 65 Conservative MPS have pledged to vote against any post-Brexit budget.
The vote is on Thursday, June 23.
