The UK has voted to leave the European Union in the historic EU Referendum that took place yesterday. Shortly after the results were announced this morning, prime minister David Cameron - who was an ardent supporter of the Remain campaign - announced his decision to stand down from office.
I am very proud to have been prime minister for six years, we have made great steps," Cameron said on the steps of Downing Street this morning. "I fought this campaign in the only way I know how, which is to say directly and passionately what I think and feel - head, heart and soul. I held nothing back. I was clear in my belief that the UK is better, safer and stronger in the European Union... But the British people have made a very clear decision of the new path and I think the country needs fresh leadership to do that."
Cameron said that he would not immediately instigate Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, which acts as a formal notification of the country's intention to withdraw from the Union and starts a two-year countdown. He also recommended that a new prime minister should be in place by the time of the next Conservative Party Conference in October.
Many of the implications of Brexit on the long-term UK economy are unclear, but Cameron took the opportunity to reassure Britons living abroad in EU member states, and EU citizens living in the UK, that there would be "no immediate changes to your circumstances". He promised to do "everything I can to steady the ship" but reiterated that "I don't think that it would be right for me to be the captain to lead this."
THE UK has voted to leave the European Union in the historic EU Referendum that took place yesterday. Shortly after the results were announced this morning, prime minister David Cameron - who was an ardent supporter of the Remain campaign - announced his decision to stand down from office.
"I am very proud to have been prime minister for six years, we have made great steps," Cameron said on the steps of Downing Street this morning. "I fought this campaign in the only way I know how, which is to say directly and passionately what I think and feel - head, heart and soul. I held nothing back. I was clear in my belief that the UK is better, safer and stronger in the European Union... But the British people have made a very clear decision of the new path and I think the country needs fresh leadership to do that."
Cameron said that he would not immediately instigate Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, which acts as a formal notification of the country's intention to withdraw from the Union and starts a two-year countdown. He also recommended that a new prime minister should be in place by the time of the next Conservative Party Conference in October.
Many of the implications of Brexit on the long-term UK economy are unclear, but Cameron took the opportunity to reassure Britons living abroad in EU member states, and EU citizens living in the UK, that there would be "no immediate changes to your circumstances". He promised to do "everything I can to steady the ship" but reiterated that "I don't think that it would be right for me to be the captain to lead this."
The results from the election came as a surprise to many, with several news services last night forecasting that the Remain campaign would emerge triumphant. As it transpired, 52 per cent of the electorate voted to leave and 48 per cent voted to remain at the polls (the turnout for which was 72 per cent of the population), with the Leave campaign winning by 1,269,501 votes. The London stock market plunged more than eight per cent in the immediate wake of the vote to leave, with the value of the pound dropping to its lowest against the dollar since 1985, according to reports from the BBC.
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