Britons lean toward Brexit as referendum looms:

The British pound tumbled on currency markets Monday – and Prime Minister David Cameron was forced into an improbable mid-campaign alliance with three left-of-centre parties – after a series of opinion polls suggested those in favour of pulling Britain out of the European Union had seized the lead three weeks before a crucial referendum.

 

The pound’s fall highlighted growing worries that a victory for the Vote Leave camp – once considered a long shot – is an increasingly possible outcome of the June 23 plebiscite, in which voters will be asked whether they want to Remain a member of or Leave the EU. Politicians and economists have repeatedly cautioned that a Leave vote could have unpredictable consequences for both the Britain and the wider European economy.

 

Despite such warnings, three new large-scale opinion polls by different companies published Sunday and Monday showed the Vote Leave side with a lead of between three and five percentage points, pushing it beyond…

 

Read More: Britons lean toward Brexit as referendum looms: polls – The Globe and Mail