Fate of British leader also at stake in EU referendum

LONDON — It’s often said that David Cameron is a lucky politician who has seemed to coast through politics on instinct and charm during a career that has culminated in six years as British prime minister.

In calling a referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union, Cameron has made a gamble that could end his career — and take his country out of an international alliance it joined more than 40 years ago.

The referendum campaign has been unexpectedly bitter and divisive, and was brought to a shocked halt when Labor lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death last week.

Both sides suspended campaigning until Sunday out of respect for Cox, amid fears that the political fury unleashed by the EU campaign was somehow connected to the killing.

At a Brussels summit in February, he won changes to welfare benefits that he said would reduce immigration and an exemption for Britain from the EU’s commitment to “ever-closer union” — a phrase that stirs images of a European super-state in some patriotic British hearts.

Tory leader for a decade and prime minister since 2010, Cameron has vowed to stay in office if there is a “leave” vote.