Britain's Labour Party seeks support for 'Remain' camp ahead of EU referendum

The campaign to keep Britain in the European Union sought on Monday to win over undecided Labour voters who could swing the result of a referendum in 10 days, as the pound fell to an eight-week low on fears the chances of Brexit had increased. Concern over the prospect of Britain voting to leave the bloc on June 23 rattled global markets on Monday, sending Asian and European shares sharply lower, and betting odds showed the likelihood of an "In" vote had fallen. With opinion polls still close, the "In" campaign focused on the opposition Labour Party on Monday. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron was not holding any high profile events.Labour supporters are seen as key to securing an In vote, as Conservative voters are deeply divided on the EU. Former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown, credited with making a decisive last-minute intervention in a Scottish independence referendum two years ago, will launch what the In campaign described as a "Labour fight-back".Source: ReutersAfter a late surge of separatist support, the 2014 referendum saw Scots vote 55% to 45% to maintain their 308-year-old union with England. The anti-EU UK Independence Party has made inroads in Labour's traditional northern English stronghold. While the party officially backs In, its leader Jeremy Corbyn has had to deny criticism he is not doing enough to campaign for that outcome. Labour have argued the media coverage has been too dominated by the battle within Cameron's Conservatives over Europe.

Rain or shine, @TH_Labour_Party out in force in Whitechapel market for Remain @StrongerIn @UKLabourIN pic.twitter.com/VKhLV2imBF

— Rushanara Ali (@rushanaraali) June 11, 2016

Volatility

Most opinion polls show Britons are still evenly divided over which way to vote, but an ORB poll published late on Friday which put the "Leave" camp 10-point ahead of "Remain" has spooked markets. The world economy is looking shaky and concerns that a vote for Brexit could tip Europe back into recession have lurked in the background for weeks. Source: ReutersThose concerns came to the fore on Monday, however, as European shares fell 1.5% and Asian stock markets logged their biggest falls in four months. Based on how people are betting, the likelihood of an In vote fell to 64% on Monday, down around 14- percentage points from last week, according to odds supplied by Betfair.

A Labour Party without the support of the working class is no party at all. Unless Labour re-engages with the workers it is doomed. #Brexit— George Galloway (@georgegalloway) June 12, 2016

The pound fell to an eight-week low while the cost of hedging against big swings in its exchange rate against the euro over the coming month jumped to a record high.