Majority of Britons will vote to remain in EU, especially younger ones, poll shows

A majority of Britons was set vote to stay inside the European club of nations in the upcoming 23 June Brexit referendum, the results of a new on-line survey showed, but the poll also put in stark relief a notable divide between younger and older generations and a negative response to the latest Budget.

Of the 2,002 people canvassed by the Organistion for Responsible Businesses on behalf of The Independent, 51.0% of respondents said they would vote to 'remain' in the European Union, whereas 49.0% said they would cast their ballot for the 'leave' campaign.

The poll was carried out between 24 and 28 March.

A similar ORB poll carried out last month had shown 52.0% backed the 'leave' campaign and 48.0% supported the option to 'remain'.

In parallel, most telephone polls appeared to tend to show a 'comfortable' – albeit decreasing - advantage for the 'remain' camp.

According to the ORB´s poll, support for continued EU-membership was high among those aged 18 to 24, at 77.0%, versus just 40.0% for those who were more than 65 years old.

However, as a result of the large margin of error in pollsters´ predictions for the results of the last general elections, observers had become far more wary of surveys of people´s voting intentions.

Younger people were considered to be less likely to vote than older ones.

The ORB poll was taken after the recent bombings in Brussels and showed an overwhelming majority of 81.0% agreed that the attacks highlighted the need for EU nations to stand together against terrorism.

George Osborne’s chances of becoming the next Conservative Party leader also appeared to take a hit, the ORB said in a statement, with only 9.0% of respondents saying he was their preferred choice to take over as leader after David Cameron, in comparison to 38.0% who would back Boris Johnson and 16.0% who would choose Theresa May.

A further 69.0% said they were opposed to additional cuts to welfare.

As of 11:59GMT cable was edging higher by 0.17% to 1.4404, while the yield on 10-year UK Gilts was two basis points lower to 1.41%.