Ladbrokes sees 40% chance of Britain exiting EU

Ladbrokes have raised the likelihood of the UK leaving the EU, placing a 40% chance on an exit.

Ladbrokes cut the odds of an exit to 11/8 from 6/4 overnight, it said in London yesterday.

The chances of people voting leaving the 28-country EU have hit a record high, Ladbrokes said.

“The odds for the vote in the UK’s four nations suggest the result is almost too close to call in England but a remain verdict is a huge favourite in Scotland,” said Matthew Shaddick of Ladbrokes.

“The polls and the odds suggest this could be a photo finish.”

Some 50% of voters would choose to exit, when undecided voters are excluded, the Daily Telegraph reported on Monday, citing an ICM poll for the Vote Leave campaign.

UK prime minister David Cameron has promised a renegotiation of Britain’s relationship with the bloc, and a referendum on membership by the end of 2017.

Paddy Power places the odds of an exit at 13/8, according to its website. The odds of staying in are 4/9.

The Economic and Social Research Institute and the Institute of International and Economic Affairs have published studies on the high costs and disruption that a UK exit would cause the Irish economy, north and south.

The UK exiting the EU would strip 3.6%, or about €6bn from the Republic’s export base should full tariff barriers be reinstalled in Britain and the North, the Institute of International and Economic Affairs has said.

The Government is campaigning to keep Britain in the EU by supporting Mr Cameron’s reforms.