The pound plummeted to a 31 year low as the market responded to growing expectations that the United Kingdom was to split from Brussels after 43 years.
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He called on Prime Minister David Cameron, who called the referendum but campaigned passionately for a Remain vote, to quit “immediately”. In Newcastle, just 21 km away, Remain prevailed by 50.7 per cent to 49.3 per cent with turnout of almost 68 per cent, EFE news agency reported.
– Northern Ireland -Northern Ireland voted “Remain” by 408,744 votes to 330,783 for “Leave”, according to local results collated by the BBC.
Experts have predicted that a high turnout would benefit the Remain campaign, with early indications that voter turnout had been as high as 80 per cent in many regions. “June 23 will be our Independence Day”, far-right UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage said, while declaring victory.
The Stay camp scored 772, 347 votes.
London had the UK’s third lowest turnout at 69.2 per cent.
While the Remain camp led by Cameron had campaigned for economic certainty and safety of jobs, the “Brexit” camp had made their case as a vote to take back control of the UK’s borders and finances.
– London -Most of the British capital has strongly backed Remain, with totals including Wandsworth (75%), Lambeth (78.6%) and Hammersmith & Fulham (70%).
Numerous areas expected to be strongly in favour of Remain were not as definitively anti-Brexit, with London throwing up a slimmer anti-Brexit vote than predicted so far.
Britons turned out in high numbers to vote on their future in the European Union, with 72.2 percent of registered voters casting their ballots in Thursday’s referendum, the Electoral Commission said.
“Vote Leave are ending this campaign as they began it – by seeking to divide our country not unite it, turning regions, nations and communities against one another”, said Labour’s Chuka Umunna.
In a departure from the norm, no major broadcasters had commissioned any exit polls over concerns about accuracy.
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The bookmakers, however, had seemed more confident about a Remain vote, and saw a flurry of late activity as the referendum became the biggest political betting event in history with an estimated 100 million pounds being wagered.
