EU referendum: Rival Brexit activists Vote Leave and Grassroots Out to swarm UK high streets

Thousands of anti-EU activists will descend on high streets across the UK when rival Brexit campaigns launch a mass day of action on Saturday (12 March).

Vote Leave, the group run by lobbyist Matthew Elliott and former Conservative special adviser Dominic Cummings, will hold its so-called 'Take Control Day'.

The action will see hundreds of activities up and down Britain, including 193 street stalls, 150 leaflet deliveries, 25 rapid leaflet delivery sessions and 24 mobile street stalls. The organisers have also promised "eye-catching stunts".

"It's fantastic to see so many people across the UK talking to their friends and family about the positive case for leaving the EU," Elliot said.

"Volunteers, business people and cabinet ministers will join forces to spread the message that life will be better if we can spend our money on our priorities like the NHS."

The event will also see speeches and visits from the likes of Employment Minister Priti Patel, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and the House of Commons leader Chris Grayling.

Grassroots Out (GO), the other group vying for the Electoral Commission's Brexit campaign designation, will also hold a mass day of action on 12 March.

The organisation, founded by Labour MP Kate Hoey and Tory MPs Peter Bone and Tom Pursglove, are calling the event 'Super Saturday' – a play on the US' recent 'Super Tuesday' elections.

GO has claimed it will cover more than 300 locations across the UK, distributing more than two million leaflets in bid to get the British electorate behind a 'leave' vote at the 23 June ballot.

The event comes after GO's last day of action on 5 March. John Flack, deputy campaign chief for the group, told IBTimes UK that the drive was the "biggest single co-ordinated" action day in British referenda history.

Britain Stronger In Europe, the main pro-EU campaign – led by former Marks and Spencer boss Lord Stuart Rose and Labour activist Will Straw – told IBTimes UK that the group regularly holds leaflet and stall actions on the weekends.

The latest opinion poll from ICM, of more than 2,000 people between 4 and 6 March, put 'leave' one point ahead of 'remain' (41% versus 40%), with 19% of respondents undecided on the EU referendum.