The result saw the value of the pound plunge against the USA dollar, falling from $1.50 to $1.43 in a matter of minutes.
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The British Prime Minister has pledged to activate Article 50 of the 2009 Lisbon Treaty as soon as possible if the result of the referendum is to leave the EU.
Sterling traded at US$1.4554 at 8am Friday, down 2.19 per cent from an hour earlier and down 2.18 per cent from Thursday’s close.
A poll released after the 22:00 voting deadline from YouGov had suggested a 52% win for Remain, leaving 48% to vote for Remain.
The city of Manchester voted to stay in the European Union by 60.4% but turnout was relatively low, at 60 percent. Votes will be counted by hand after the polls have closed, Reuters reported. Japan’s Nikkei plummeted as much as 3% before clawing back most of its losses in morning trading. Official results are not expected until later in the day.
Gisela Stuart, a Labour MP who has campaigned to leave Britain said she felt “excited” by the result.
On Thursday, investors had been growing increasingly confident that the country would vote to remain a member of the 28-nation bloc. While 50.7 per cent voted to stay in the European Union, 49.3 per cent voted to exit.
The pound fell dramatically to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985 as markets reacted to the shock decision. This is a record number for a United Kingdom poll.
YouGov said that their polling suggested that, “the race is too close to call, but the recent trend has been towards Remain, just as other referendums in the past have shown late movement towards the status quo”.
The campaign was temporarily suspended after the killing of Labor MP Jo Cox last week. This is good for the Bremain camp that was focusing on the economy and bad for Brexiteers that focused on immigration.
Richard Elvin, a Leave campaigner in Sunderland, told British daily The Guardian: “Voters made a big statement saying we’re sick to death of politics as it is”.
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People have not held back in their anxious outcry for Britain’s future without membership of the EU.
