Nigel Farage, the leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), rejoiced in the satisfaction of a lifelong dream – and independent Britain – now brought to fruition.
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The UK has voted to leave the European Union in the historic referendum. Unlike his fellow Brexiter Farage, Johnson gave a sombre speech that was uncharacteristically charitable – perhaps even an attempt at sounding prime-ministerial.
“Throughout the Midlands and the north of England the level of support for “Remain” was well below what was required for it to win”, he said.
The EU, taken as a whole, is the UK’s major trading partner, accounting for 44 per cent of exports and 53 per cent of imports of goods and services in 2015. And Conservative backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg said a general election in the autumn was “not impossible”. He said he will continue as Prime Minister with his cabinet for the next three months but aimed to have a new PM in place by October.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the Bank of England may have to intervene to shore up the currency. Half of that union made a decision to remain in the other union.
In the immediate aftermath, Britain will remain a member of the European Union and nothing will change instantly.
Cameron will chair a Cabinet meeting on Monday and soon after travel to Brussels to inform the European Council of Britain’s referendum next Tuesday and Wednesday.
He described the European Union as “doomed” and “dying”. McGuinness has previously said that a Brexit would create a “democratic imperative” for Northern Ireland to hold a referendum on United Kingdom membership.
But results in England and Wales have generally been much better for “Leave” so far, with the race across Britain neck-and-neck. In a surprise result, Birmingham voted to Leave by the slimmest of margins.
Adam Ramsay of Open Democracy UK has outlined how Scotland could make this happen.
The Scottish government is already taking steps towards a possible second referendum on independence, and there were demonstrations in Edinburgh and Glasgow to show support for migrants and protest against the “torrent of racism” they say was “unleashed” during the referendum campaign.
Not long after 0600 BST on Friday, the Leave campaign had amassed 16.835m votes, around 52% of the total and officially enough to confirm the country’s choice for Brexit, compared to 15.692m for Remain, or 48%.
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The results sparked calls from within Labour for a change in direction, with Bassetlaw MP John Mann saying that the strong showing for Brexit in former heartland areas showed the party was “out of touch” with traditional voters who were “sick to death” with what they were being offered.
