So at last we’ve made it. In just a few hours campaigning will be over and finally the public will have its say. We have staggered to the finish line; thank God the marathon will soon be over.
It’s tempting to look at the past couple of days, the last throws of the dice from both sides, and ask: does the British public trust declared pro-EU former soccer superstar David Beckham, or our allegedly Brexit-backing Queen? But it is much more interesting to look at the winners and losers of the televised debate last night, the last big set piece of the campaign.
It was a pretty strange format: live from Wembley Arena, a really disappointing version of The X Factor. As the biggest beast on the panel Boris had a chance to shine, but he fluffed it. Delivering one final soundbite got him on to the News at Ten, but viewers of the whole show would conclude again he has yet to prove that he is a Prime Minister in waiting.
The person closest to claiming that accolade was Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. She belatedly injected passion into the 'remain' campaign, and finally made the positive case for the EU. If the Tories skip a generation and put people like her and Stephen Crabb in the frame to be next party leader in 2018 there is real hope for the future.
By the way, sorry Sun headline writers; the answer is obviously Becks. And although it’s been far more squeaky bum time than it should have been, I’m pretty sure 'remain' will prevail tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
Gavin Devine is COO at Porta Communications and is pro-'remain'
