LONDON, United Kingdom - The campaign to get Britain out of the European Union has fallen behind according to the latest poll. The figures put together by Survation show Remain 2 percent ahead, following the murder of Jo Cox MP on Thursday.
Campaigning in the referendum was suspended for two days but during that time a rumor circulated that the killer had shouted "Britain First" during the attack. This led a number of national newspapers to suggest the murder was linked to Mrs Cox's pro-European stance. The Daily Star newspaper went further leading with the front-page "MP Dead After Attack By Brexit Gunman".
Today parliament was recalled to pay tribute to the murdered MP, with many of the speakers suggesting a link to Brexit. The Labour Leader, Jeremy Corbyn, claimed the attack was evidence Britain needed a "kinder, gentler politics".
Watching the tributes from the House of Commons gallery were members of the Cox family, including Jo Cox’s husband Brendan, their children, and her father in law. They held hands during some of the tributes, which were led by the Prime Minister.
Before the attack, Brexit had been polling ahead of Remain, with one survey putting the lead as high as 10 percent. But over the weekend the lead evaporated, with Remain now on 45 percent and leave trailing on 43 percent.
Senior Brexit campaigners admitted the campaign had lost momentum due to the murder of Jo Cox and the subsequent halt in campaigning. UKIP leader Nigel Farage told ITV: "We did have momentum until this terrible tragedy. It has had an impact on the whole campaign for everybody.
"When you are taking on the establishment, you need to have momentum. I don't know what's going to happen over the course of the next three to four days, but (this was) the action of one person with serious mental issues. What we saw was an act of terrorism."
The Leave campaign is now said to be working to sure up its existing support, whilst accepting it cannot bag undecided voters. This might still be enough to win though as the turnout among Brexit supporters is expected to be much higher than Remainers.
Both sides are now entering the final phases of campaigning as the referendum takes place on Thursday. The question voters will be asked is "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" and polling stations will be open from 7am until 10pm. The results should become clear during the early hours of the morning.
The last time Britain held a referendum on the issue of Europe was over membership of the Common Market, the free trade area that later became the EU. Around 67 percent of people voted Remain, at the time the government won the vote by allaying fears the Common Market would be turned into a federal superstate. Those assurances ended up being practically worthless after successive British governments signed away more and more of the country's sovereignty.