LAST day of campaigning in Petersfield in the in or out EU referendum has seen both sets of campaigners workinh next to each other again.
The usual places used for stalls around the town centre on Wednesdays, and at weekends, have not been open to both groups due to their political campaigning.
So they have ended up both having to use the same small area in The Square to persuade the public which way to vote in tomorrow (Thursday’s) polls.
And while you may think the two sides are miles apart in terms of their political arguments, in Petersfield there is little more than a metre seperating them.
The styles of the two campaigns in the town centre have proven to be very different. The out campaigners have been loud, outwardly confident and their supporters have been vocal in putting forward their reasons for leaving the European Union (EU).
The in group have quietly and confidently gone about their business, with supporters tending to quietly acknowledge the intentions to vote remain at the polls.
The close proximity of the two stalls has brought plenty of debates between the two sets of volunteers and the public has not been shy in sharing their opinions either.
While I?was speaking to the in group, one woman approached their stall, shouting “that they were wasting their time” and “Cameron is taking the mickey out of you.”
“There has been a lot of emotion from the out side I?have seen while we have been campaigning,” said Mark Smith, who has been co-ordinating the Petersfield volunteers campaigning for the Stronger In group.
“In contrast, people have been tending to come up to our volunteers to quietly acknowledge that they will be voting to remain.
“Despite both sides having to campaign so closely together in Petersfield, relations between the two sides have been fairly amicable when we have been here.
“We have some debates between the volunteers and they can get a little heated but we feel it has been really important to get out in the town and get the message of the in campaign across.”
Malcolm Bint, the East Hampshire organiser for the Leave.EU campaign, said their campaigning in Petersfield town centre had been going well.
“We feel our democracy is under serious threat so it is important for us to be out here getting the out campaign message across to the public,” said Malcolm.
“I?think generally speaking the people we have spoken to who are intending to vote to leave are showing more passion when we are speaking to them. The space to campaign is limited but we have both shown tolerance and understanding working alongside each other.”