British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has announced that he shall resign from his position by October, saying that he believes his country needs "fresh leadership" as it takes a new direction. Cameron pushed hard for Britain to remain in the EU during the grueling four-month campaign prior to the referendum, but his resignation came as a surprise to all.
UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, who has been at the forefront of the campaign to leave, was clearly jubilant at the results, suggesting that the day become known as "Independence Day".
The decision has sent shockwaves across the globe with the British Pound plunging to a 31-year low, as financial markets stumble to react to the situation. Every sector on the global market has experienced negative results as investors panic. The Australian dollar has slumped a further 3% on the USD with $50 billion in shares being wiped out on the ASX 200 in just one day.
The United Kingdom now has two years to negotiate its withdrawal from the EU, as per the Lisbon Treaty. It is expected that the nation will chose to become closely tied to the organisation, without actually being a part of it, either by signing a single treaty as Norway has, or by following in the footsteps of Switzerland by signing several treaties.
Reactions amongst European nations have been mixed, with Germany's Foreign Minister describing the referendum as a "sad day for Europe and for Great Britain". The President of the European Union, Donald Tusk has called for unity among member states, stating that "We are determined to keep our unity as 27." However, other European states, where support for the EU is even lower than in the United Kingdom, have reacted with less sadness to the decision, as anti-immigration leaders in both the Netherlands and France called for their own nations to follow suit and leave.
The EU Parliament President, Martin Schulz, has said that he expects negotiations over Britain's departure to begin quickly. It seems clear that the organisation will also be convening a crisis meeting in the very near future to discuss the dilemma, and try to shore up internal support for the EU in order to prevent a mass exodus of members.
As David Cameron has now announced his future resignation, it seems as though new contenders for the position of Prime Minister are emerging from the Pro-Leave camp, including conservative, former Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and conservative Member of Parliament, Michael Gove.
Scotland, which makes up a significant part of the landmass of the United Kingdom, showed strong support for remaining, with 62 percent of votes being pro-EU. This has renewed calls for Scottish independence from Great Britain after a referendum on the matter ended in failure in 2014 with 55% of voters choosing to stay within the British nation. The Scottish National Party has repeatedly pointed out that if a significant vote difference was recorded between England and Scotland, it expected another referendum on independence to be held.
But it is not only Scotland which is calling for independence. Irish nationalists within Northern Ireland, also British territory, have called for a referendum on unification with Ireland. Support there for the European Union was not as high, but still larger than in England and Wales, with 56 percent of Northern Irelanders being in favour of staying. This is largely to do with the fact that leaving the European Union will make economic cooperation with nearby Ireland far more difficult.
As Gibraltar is no longer under the protection of the EU, Spain has proposed shared sovereignty between itself and Great Britain. The decision to leave will also spark immediate concerns for the employment situation on the peninsula, as many Gibraltarians work across the border in Spain and unemployment in the city itself is at an astounding 40%. Tighter border and visa restrictions will make employment more difficult, further damaging the Gibraltarian economy.
Regardless of unrest, the United Kingdom also faces the momentous task of removing itself from 40 years of EU legislation, which will be a revolution in itself. The British government will also have to reestablish trade treaties, and ensure that its economy is not destroyed by the continuing market collapse.
More details to come.
Hugh McFarlane