LONDON: A former chairman of the Conservative Party has switched her support from the Leave campaign to Remain.
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi told the Times the 鈥渉ate and xenophobia鈥� of the Leave campaign was 鈥渁 step too far.鈥�
She said she realized she could no longer support Leave when she saw UKIP鈥檚 鈥渂reaking point鈥� anti-EU poster.
Meanwhile, British lawmakers gathered Monday to honor a murdered colleague, attempting a rare show of unity in a heated, neck-and-neck race for votes three days before the referendum.
As the battle raged over Thursday鈥檚 vote that could change the course of post-war Europe, latest polls showed the 鈥淩emain鈥� camp gaining ground.
Financial markets rallied as Brexit concerns eased, at least temporarily. The pound surged and Europe鈥檚 major stock markets in London, Frankfurt and Paris gained more than three percent in morning trade.
鈥淎 higher chance of the UK voting to stay is a relief for markets,鈥� said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets.
Politicians from both sides of the fight returned to parliament, which had been in recess, to pay tribute to Jo Cox, a campaigner in favor of EU membership who was shot and killed last week in a village street in northern England.
Her alleged killer, 52-year-old Thomas Mair, was due in court on Monday after being charged at the weekend with murder.
The image of unity did not last long.
Top pro-Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), accused his rivals of unashamedly using Cox鈥檚 death to boost their cause.
鈥淭he 鈥楻emain鈥� camp are using these awful circumstances to try to say that the motives of one deranged, dangerous individual were similar of half the country or perhaps more who believe we should leave the EU,鈥� he told the BBC.
If Britain leaves the EU, it would be the first nation to do so in the bloc鈥檚 60-year history.
The British referendum has opened the prospect of other nations demanding a vote, too, perhaps placing in peril the very survival of the European project, which was born out of a determination to forge lasting peace after two world wars.
While the 鈥淩emain鈥� camp has tried to focus on the potential economic damage that Brexit could inflict, the 鈥淟eave鈥� campaign held out the promise of Britain taking better control of mass immigration if it leaves the EU.
Farage, however, has had to fend off attacks over his release last week of a campaign poster, which showed scores of refugees trudging through fields toward the camera with a bold, red headline 鈥淏reaking Point.鈥�