The United Kingdom has voted to leave the EU in a historic referendum which will end its 40-year tie to the European Union.
The United Kingdom has voted to leave the EU after a historic referendum sees the Leave campaign win 51.9 per cent of the vote. The Remain managed to swing 48.1 per cent of the vote.
The Leave campaign was headed up by Boris Johnson and the Remain was headed by Prime Minister David Cameron.
Voters in England and Wales voted strongly to leave the EU whilst voters in Scotland, Northern Ireland and London (60 per cent stay) voted overwhelmingly to stay within the EU.
The turnout for the referendum was 71.8% with over 30 million people turning out to vote.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said that the 23rd June would, “go down in history as our independence day”.
Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party said that the way in which Scotland voted as a whole proved that it “makes clear that the people of Scotland see their future as part of the European Union,” leaving little doubt that Scotland could be staging their own, second independence referendum.
Money Matters
As the news broke at 6AM that the UK had voted to leave the EU, the pound dropped to its lowest level since 1985. Against the US dollar it hit $1.3305. Oil prices also slumped after the news with Brent crude falling 5.2 per cent.
Against the Euro the pound dropped 7 per cent to €1.2085.
Financial instability and drops were expected in the case of a Leave vote with many finance experts expecting the markets to rectify themselves in time. The Bank of England said it was monitoring the markets saying,
“It has undertaken extensive contingency planning and is working closely with HM Treasury, other domestic authorities and overseas central banks. The Bank of England will take all necessary steps to meet its responsibilities for monetary and financial stability.”
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