EU Referendum Scorecard - Trump and Boris, a seesaw and immigration

By Stephen Addison LONDON (Reuters) - The abiding image of the week was a mural of Donald Trump locked in a Soviet-style kiss with "Out" campaigner Boris Johnson in what pro-EU campaigners intended as a warning of things to come if Britain were to leave the 28-member bloc. The chances of that happening, commentators are saying, may well depend not so much on winning the argument as making sure key sectors of the electorate actually turn out to vote on June 23. One such is the youth vote, widely thought to be pro-EU if only it can be persuaded to make the effort to register and go along to the polling station. Hence the release of a video aimed at persuading young people to cast their ballots. Its attempt to get down with the kids by dropping the "g" and using words like "votin" however was widely mocked and attracted widespread scorn on social media. More controversy was generated by the use of another striking image in a campaign to galvanise another key sector, ethnic minorities. A poster of a snarling skinhead sitting on a seesaw opposite a woman of South Asian origin wearing a sari drew condemnation from both "In" and "Out" camps. Immigration was brought into sharp focus during the week by official figures showing net migration to Britain reached its second-highest ever last year, prompting "Out" campaigners to demand Britain quit the EU and impose tighter border controls. Polls and betting odds, meanwhile, continued to point to a victory for the "In" campaign. MONEY Sterling's trade-weighted index, a broad based measure of the currency's performance, was on track for its third straight week of gains and trading at 3-1/2 month highs. Growing hopes that Britain will remain in the EU as well as unwinding of bets that the Bank of England will have to cut rates in case Britain opts out, were boosting the currency. BETTING ODDS Bookmaker William Hill offered an "In" vote at the shortest odds since the date of next month's referendum was announced in February. It said odds on "In" had shortened to 1/6, implying an 85 percent chance of the country deciding to remain in the EU POLLS * ORB telephone poll: In on 55 percent, Out on 42 percent, 3 percent undecided. * ICM online poll: In on 45 percent, Out on 45 percent, 10 percent undecided. * YouGov online poll: In on 41 percent, Out on 41 percent, 13 percent undecided. * Survation telephone poll: In on 44 percent, Out on 38 percent, 18 percent undecided. * BMG online poll: Out on 45 percent, In on 44 percent, 12 percent undecided. FULL COVERAGE For full multimedia coverage please click: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=brexit For a PDF of stories on Brexit: http://share.thomsonreuters.com/assets/newsletters/Adhoc/Brexit.pdf For a graphic of opinion polls: http://tmsnrt.rs/1Ke31HF QUOTES OF THE WEEK EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER "Deserters will not be welcomed back with open arms." TWITTER USER CARYS DAVIS ON THE YOUTH VIDEO: "Interested to read about the #votin campaign - it's just like 'voting' apparently, but for young people." PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON "When you are faced by a difficult decision, it is often a good thing to listen to what your friends think." (Speaking at a G7 meeting in Japan. Major powers have urged Britain to stay in the EU) PRO-EU LONDON MAYOR SADIQ KHAN ON THE SKINHEAD POSTER "I want to engage people in all communities to get involved in our democracy but I’m afraid this poster is a really big mistake." (Reporting by Stephen Addison; Editing by Angus MacSwan)