Breathtaking Brexit Ballot: Record Turnout as Count Begins

Counting has begun in the most divisive referendum over Britain's membership of the European Union, which has seen political parties in the UK split over an issue which goes to the heart of Europe.

Tonight, it has emerged that there has been a huge turnout, which suggests a vote for 'Remain'.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has staked his reputation on keeping the UK in the European Union, amid a huge upsurge in Euroskepticism among the British public — but much more importantly within his own Conservative Party.

Initial figures show that the provisional size of the UK and Gibraltar electorate indicates a UK record of 46,499,537. This figure is the total number of electors eligible to vote in the June 23 poll, which will be declared in the early hours of Friday morning (June 24). 

All eyes are on the UK referendum result, with the European migrant crisis and worries about the integrity of the Eurozone single currency area dominating the debate.. Right across Europe, there is growing antipathy towards the Brussels-led machine.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing fierce opposition after — effectively — declaring Europe's doors open to refugees, precipitating the biggest mass movement of migrant into Europe since the Second World War.

Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande is being battered by a rise in the popularity of the right-wing Front National, led by Marine le Pen, as he also struggles to deal with kickstarting the French economy by loosening the heavily codified French labor laws.

Blue-on-Blue

Cameron's Conservatives have been split over Britain's membership of the European Union ever since the signing of the Maastricht treaty in 1992, which created the institutions of the EU as we know it today. So bitter was the acrimony within the party that former Prime Minister John Major — who signed the treaty — lost the 1997 election over the issue and kept the blue-bannered Conservatives out of power for 13 years.

In an effort to win the 2015 election, Cameron promised an In-Out referendum on the issue by the end of 2017.

The moment the date for it was announced the rival campaigns began — not least the rival camps within the Conservative party, with ex-London Mayor Boris Johnson leading the "Leave" group and Cameron making the case for "Remain." Thus, much of the campaigning has been a slug-out between Cameron and Johnson — the co-called blue-on-blue war — which has dominated the agenda and the media.

The opposition Labour Party — led by lifelong Euroskeptic Jeremy Corbyn — has backed "Remain" but has failed to engage with many voters and its own party membership — which a recent poll found was unsure of the party's official stance.

Corbyn has been lukewarm in the campaign, drawing criticism from some of his parliamentarians.

The biggest issue for the mostly left-leaning, working class Labour supporters is immigration and the matter of foreign workers taking British jobs for less money and enjoying benefits. According to the latest poll by ORB, 44 percent of people who voted for Labour at the 2015 general election now back "Leave."

Counting will continue through the night with the result declared June 24.