Friday, June 24, 2016

Britain votes to leave the EU

A referendum - a vote in which everyone (or nearly everyone) of voting age can take part - was held on Thursday 23 June, to decide whether the UK should leave or remain in the European Union.
Leave won by 52% to 48%.
The referendum turnout was 71.8%, with more than 30 million people voting. It was the highest turnout in a UK-wide vote since the 1992 general election.
England voted strongly for Brexit, by 53.4% to 46.6%, as did Wales, with Leave getting 52.5% of the vote and Remain 47.5%.
Scotland and Northern Ireland both backed staying in the EU. Scotland backed Remain by 62% to 38%, while 55.8% in Northern Ireland voted Remain and 44.2% Leave.
For the UK to leave the EU it has to invoke an agreement called Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
Cameron or his successor needs to decide when to invoke this - that will then set in motion the formal legal process of withdrawing from the EU, and give the UK two years to negotiate its withdrawal.
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David Cameron's resignation 
Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will step down after the UK voted to Leave the European Union.
Speaking in Downing Street, he did not set out a precise timetable for his departure but said "we should aim to have a new prime minister in place by the start of the Conservative party conference in October".
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Ratings agencies downgrade UK credit rating after Brexit vote
The UK has lost its top AAA credit rating from ratings agency S&P following the country's Brexit vote.
S&P said the the referendum result could lead to "a deterioration of the UK's economic performance, including its large financial services sector".
Rival agency Fitch lowered its rating from AA+ to AA, forecasting an "abrupt slowdown" in growth in the short-term.

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