By William James
LONDON (Reuters) - Campaigning for Britain's
vote on EU membership resumed on Sunday after a three-day hiatus
prompted by the killing of a pro-EU lawmaker, but pledges of a more
respectful tone were quickly tested by a fresh row over immigration.
Three
opinion polls ahead of Thursday's vote showed the 'Remain' camp
recovering some momentum although the overall picture remained one of an
evenly split electorate.
The
murder of Jo Cox, a 41-year-old mother of two young children, shocked
Britain, raised questions about the tone of campaigning and could yet
prove a defining moment in what is Britain biggest political decision
for decades.
Both sides sought to adopt a more measured style on
Sunday, paying their respects to Cox but sticking closely to the
immigration versus economy debate that has defined the campaign.
"I
hope, because of the tragic death of Jo, we can have a less divisive
political debate in our country," finance minister George Osborne, a
leading conservative 'Remain' campaigner, told ITV's Peston on Sunday
show.
"Particularly in the last few days of this referendum we’re
going to have less baseless assertion and inflammatory rhetoric and
more reasoned argument and facts," he said.
Cox, a Labour Party
lawmaker and ardent supporter of EU membership, was shot and stabbed in
the street in her electoral district in northern England on Thursday. A
52-year-old man appeared in a London magistrate's court on Saturday,
charged with her murder.
Both 'Remain' and 'Leave' halted their campaigns until Sunday morning.
But
the heated nature of the debate, which has so far seen 'In' campaigners
accused of scaremongering on the economy and the 'Out' campaign's
immigration focus criticized as divisive, soon resurfaced after the
temporary truce.
Osborne criticized as "disgusting and vile" a
poster unveiled by 'Leave' campaigners last week showing a line of
refugees under the slogan 'Breaking Point', saying it was reminiscent of
literature used in the 1930s.
UK Independence Party (UKIP)
leader Nigel Farage, who was pictured in front of the poster, said the
EU had failed to control immigration properly and had compromised safety
in Europe by allowing in religious extremists who wanted to attack
Western states.
"Something that is true can't be a scare, can
it?," Farage told BBC radio when asked about the poster. "It was a
comment about us being part of a European Union that is failing."
LACK OF CONTROL
The
official 'Vote Leave' campaign sought to distance itself from the
poster but defended its focus on immigration - an issue that has
resonated with many voters.
"The debate in this referendum is
about our lack of control over economic migration from parts of Europe
whose economies are being destroyed by the euro," said Vote Leave
chairwoman Gisela Stuart. "This is now affecting families in Britain."
Farage also appeared to indicate he thought Cox's killing had had an adverse effect on the 'Out' campaign.
"It
has an impact on the campaign for everybody," he told Peston on Sunday
when asked whether it would affect the referendum outcome. "We did have
momentum until this terrible tragedy."
The only poll fully
carried out since the killing showed support for "In" at 45 percent
ahead of "Out" on 42 percent - a reversal of the three-point lead that
the pollster, Survation, showed for 'Out' in a poll conducted on
Wednesday.
Two other polls published on Saturday showed the
'Remain' campaign had regained its lead over 'Leave', while another
showed the two camps running neck-and-neck.
However, pollsters
said most of these surveys were carried out before Thursday's attack and
thus did not reflect the full impact of the event.
"We
are now in the final week of the referendum campaign and the swing back
toward the status quo appears to be in full force," Anthony Wells, a
director with polling firm YouGov, said.
