Low turnout in key Remain areas London and Scotland handed boost to Leave campaign
Questions asked whether the referendum result was impacted by the miserable weather
TORRENTIAL rain and thunderstorms may have dampened voters' enthusiasm to head to the polls -with low turnout hitting the Remain campaign where it hurts.
It has prompted questions over whether Britain's miserable weather helped to boost Leave's victory as they storm to victory.
It's believed more than a million voters could have stayed at home due to the storms and travel chaos, experts have warned.
But pollsters claimed both sides of the referendum debate will be equally blighted by the disruption.
London and the South East were hit by floods as voters headed to the polls - forcing some polling stations to close.
Kingston upon Thames Council in south west London moved two polling stations after they were flooded with water while locals struggled to access polling stations in Barking and Newham in east London.
Some voters were told to wear wellies because of flooding, while other polling stations were relocated because they were inundated with water.
Anxious voters keen to head to the polls tweeted that they were stuck on delayed trains heading home.
Many demanded the polls should be kept open for longer - but the Electoral Commission said there is "no provision" in law to do so.
Neil Matthews said: "Looks like weather-related train delays will prevent my wife from voting. Cross."
Alan Buxton said on Twitter: "Stuck on met line. Looking touch and go if I'll make it in time to vote."
Charlie Joe said: "Voting should be extended for all the Londoners."
Thousands of commuters found themselves stuck at Waterloo station because of delayed and cancelled trains.
A lightning strike to overhead power lines also caused disruption to Thameslink commuters as trains ground to a halt after losing power.
A Network Rail spokesman said it had deployed 1,200 engineers to deal with the severe weather but advised commuters to check routes before travelling on Friday morning.
There were 22 flood alerts across the south east of England launched yesterday, with London experiencing a month’s worth of rainfall in just a few hours.
But in Scotland, where a high turnout could help swing the vote to Remain, the weather was dry.
Last night MPs pleaded with their constituents not to let the weather put them off.
Kent Tory Tom Tugendhat tweeted: The weather is awful and the trains rubbish but please don’t let that stop you voting — this is your chance to have your voice heard.
This morning Britain is after a number of stunning against the odds victories propelled the country towards a vote to leave the EU.
With two-thirds of areas declared in the referendum at 4.30am results continued on the same trajectory and the UK will narrowly decided to quit Brussels in a historic result.
By 4am both sides had reached more than 10 million votes with the country still split down the middle after historic wins for the Out campaign in Wales, the South and the North East.
They were cancelled out by boosts for Remain in Scotland and London, but as the night has wore on more and more results have been for Brexit
It led Nigel Farage to tweet: “I now dare to dream that the dawn is coming up on an independent United Kingdom,” before victory was finally announced.