THE polls opened this morning across York and North Yorkshire for the long awaited EU referendum, and campaigners were yesterday in the throes of a last minute push for votes.

After months of campaigning and debate, Vote Leave's figurehead Boris Johnson made a flying visit to the area, while the Remain campaign revealed the latest tranch of business leaders to back their arguments.

York Press:

Boris Johnson in Selby on Wednesday

Mr Johnson was in Selby yesterday afternoon, with the town's MP Nigel Adams, and he hold the crowd today would be their one and only chance to vote for Brexit and "take back control of our country and our democracy."

Speaking later, Mr Adams said he was confident that voters in Selby and across Yorkshire would back Brexit, although he admitted he expected the results across the country to be close.

"I am picking up a huge sense that people are sick of being told what to do by Brussels," he said, adding that as the fifth largest economy in the world Britain could "stand proud" and trade globally on its own.

"This is about taking back control of our money and where we spend North Yorkshire and British taxpayers' money."

Meanwhile, former Labour leader and Remain campaigner Ed Miliband was in Leeds for a last minute push for votes, and the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign publishing a fresh list of businesses who have backed their cause and spoken of how important the EU is for jobs and prosperity in the country.

The 1,285 business leaders from across the UK argue that business, jobs and investment are stronger in Europe, while leaving would make our economy worse off.

York-based Monster Group UK is among those whose names backing this latest bid, along with York Cocoa House, Berwins Solicitors in Harrogate, Bleikers Smokehouse in Northallerton, and Malton's Stone + Associates Architects.

They joined big names from the business world - including Sir Richard Branson, Sir Charles Dunstone, Jacqueline Gold, and Lord Bilimoria.

In a joint letter, they say that “businesses and their employees benefit massively from being able to trade inside the world’s largest single market”.

Leaving, on the other hand, would bring “uncertainty for our firms, less trade with Europe and fewer jobs”, and would cause an “economic shock” that would hurt British businesses.