"Brits don't quit," Cameron says ahead of EU vote

PanARMENIAN.Net - British Prime Minister David Cameron made a dramatic appeal to voters across the generation gap on Tuesday, June 21 to back staying in the European Union ahead of a cliff-hanger referendum that will shape the future of the West, Reuters reports.

Britons vote on Thursday on whether to quit the 28-nation bloc amid warnings from world leaders, investors and companies that a decision to leave would diminish the former imperial power's influence, unleash turmoil on markets and send shock waves through Europe and the wider Western world.

In a rare televised address outside his Downing Street office, Cameron hammered home his message that leaving the EU would jeopardize Britain's economy and its national security, with fewer jobs, fewer allies and higher prices.

"Brits don't quit," he said, using the official backdrop to make a direct pitch to older voters considered more eurosceptic and more likely to vote.

"It will just be you in that polling booth. Just you, taking a decision that will affect your future, your children's future, your grandchildren's future."

The Conservative prime minister's last-minute intervention came as an opinion poll showed support for remaining in the EU shrinking. The Survation poll put the "In" camp just one percentage point ahead of the campaign for a so-called Brexit, well within the margin of error, Reuters says.

Opponents said the hastily arranged appearance suggested Cameron, who promised the referendum in 2013 under pressure from lawmakers in his Conservative Party, and the "In" campaign were very worried about the outcome.

"Cameron is panicked, it's out of his hands now," Arron Banks, a multi-millionaire insurance tycoon who is funding one of the Leave campaigns, said on Twitter.

Raoul Ruparel, co-director of Open Europe, a think-tank, said Cameron wanted to project a solemn, statesmanlike image.

"Because it was called off the cuff it looks panicked, but all people will see from the news are the clips which show him looking very measured and relaxed," Ruparel told Reuters.