After months of campaigning, 17,410,742 million people voted to leave the European Union, while 16,141,241 voted to remain.
Advertisement
“Leave” campaigners have hailed the result as a victory for British democracy against the bureaucratic behemoth of the EU. If you want a full breakdown of the votes by region you can find it here, and start wondering how many people wish they had a real TARDIS to go back and do this one over again.
Obama wasn’t alone in his disparagement of Brexit supporters, of course.
“These sorts of things take such a long time”, Wishart says.
Mr Cameron said he accepted the decision of the electorate.
As and when Article 50 is activated – once Britain “officially” notifies the European Union of its departure – a two-year separation process is set into motion, resulting in the final split. That would put a two-year clock on the divorce talks.
The statement was issued by EU president Donald Tusk, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Parliament leader Martin Schulz and Dutch premier Mark Rutte, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the bloc, after crisis talks in Brussels.
The petition calls for a new rule to be implemented and stipulates that polls on the European Union with a majority under 60% and turnout under 75% must be restarted.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, was more cautious, saying it was up to Britain to decide when to begin withdrawal proceedings, although they should not “drag on forever”.
“There is a certain urgency…so that we don’t have a period of uncertainty, with financial consequences, political consequences”, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said at a meeting in Berlin of the EU’s six founding nations.
“The British vote poses a grave test for Europe, which must show solidity and strength in its response to the economic and financial risks”, Mr Hollande said after meeting with his cabinet.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that the Dáil will be recalled on Monday to discuss the impact of Brexit on Ireland.
Back in Britain, some newspapers were at the ready with celebratory covers, including The Sun, with its “See EU Later” front page, and the Daily Mail, which, under a giant “WE’RE OUT!” headline, added “After 43 years United Kingdom freed from shackles of EU”. The Government would continue to focus on this growth, he said.
In New York, the Dow Jones plunged more than 500 points in opening trade on Wall Street.
Video: UK Votes Out: What Happens Next?
It’s very destabilising, and I really wish that the prime minister had never called this referendum; and I also wish that economists had behaved a little more sensibly…
Ahead of the vote, marquee campaign themes included, on the “leave” side, the question of the U.K.’s sovereignty within the European Union-specifically its ability to control migration-and, on the “remain” side, the economic benefits of belonging to the world’s largest trading bloc, as well as the potentially catastrophic consequences of withdrawing from it. numerous key arguments on either side concerned the contours of the U.K.-EU relationship, and quite sensibly so.
Advertisement
“I would reassure those markets and investors that Britain’s economy is fundamentally strong and I would also reassure Britons living in European countries and European citizens living here, that there will be no immediate changes in your circumstances”.
