With the majority of constituencies having declared their votes in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union with a 51.8 to 48.2 per cent voting margin.
However individually Scotland has voted unanimously along with the greater constituency of North Ireland to remain in the European Union, creating a mixed sense of purpose as the sun rises on this historic morning of June 24th.
The Referendum vote saw many historical moments throughout the night and early morning. The Pound Sterling dropped a total of 10.3 per cent over the night and the exchange rate is now rests at 1 British pound to 1.34 US Dollars of 1.22 Euros. This type of currency plummet hasn’t been experienced by the UK since 1985, and when markets open in the morning in Britain and the US the economic stability of the UK is predicted to become all the more volatile.
The night of the 23rd also saw 72% voter turnout, which is said to be the highest national count at polls in Britain’s postwar era. The decision was unclear and very close for the first few hours of declarations, however at 4 in the morning the Leave camp gained a 1.5 point majority and Nigel Farage made a victory statement, saying: “the dawn is breaking on a independent United Kingdom…Let June 23rd go down in history as our independence day.”
An hour later many news sources such as the BBC, SkyNews and The New York Times declared the EU Referendum a win for the Leave camp, and indeed Leave has proved victorious.
In Northern Ireland and Scotland mood is mixed, as their country went the opposite way of their constituencies. Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, said of the referendum decision: “The people of Scotland see their future as a part of the EU….Scotland has spoken and spoken decisively.”
Sinn Fein, an Irish nationalist party in Northern Ireland also said that this decision “intensifies the case for a United Ireland.” Both statement reflects the fraught future that Scotland and Northern Ireland will have in a newly independent UK.
Watch this space for continual updates on this historic decision. Read our live blog for a more detailed review of the night’s events, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the most up-to-date coverage.
Image credit: Iker Merodio