Brexit: Britain votes to leave EU, Prime Minister Cameron resigns
“Historic catastrophe” for the EU, writes leading German daily
Just hours after EU referendum results, British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced his decision to step down from his post. With the Leave campaign securing 52 percent of the votes, Britain would be leaving the European Union — 43 years after it joined the common European market. In 2013, Prime Minister Cameron had promised a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU.
Media reports suggest that Prime Minister and his advisors were “shocked” at the outcome, as most of the polls in the run-up to the Thursday’s vote were suggesting a “comfortable margin” in favour those campaigning to stay in the EU.
London-based newspaper The Guardian reports:
David Cameron has resigned as prime minister after the British public rejected his personal entreaties and voted to leave the European Union.
“The will of the British people is an instruction that must be delivered,” the prime minister said, his voice breaking with emotion, and his wife, Samantha, standing beside him in Downing Street on Friday morning.
Cameron promised to remain in post until the autumn, to “steady the ship”, but said: “I do not think it would be right for me to be the captain who steers the country to its next destination.”
The leading German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung called the British electoral verdict a “historic catastrophe for Europe” — angrily adding that “Britain has made a mockery of itself in the world”. German’s Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel called it a “bad day for Europe”. His cabinet colleague, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also echoed similar sentiments.
Apparently, having learned nothing from the fresh debacle in the UK referendum, President of the European parliament Martin Schulz doubled down on the European Project, warning those now in France also wanting to follow the British example, stand to lose “all the privileges.”
After a clear victory for the Brexit campaign, other European countries such as France, Denmark and the Netherlands with high-level of dissatisfaction with the functioning of the EU could hold similar referenda.
Prime Minister Cameron will stay in office till the ruling Conservative Party elects a new leader ahead of its party convention in October 2016.
Video: David Cameron resigns following UK’s EU referendum result to leave EU
[Cover image courtesy Guardian Wires, YouTube] [Writer is an analyst reporting from the Netherlands]
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Comments
I’m not a British Subject, I’m an American Citizen however I lived in England for three years as a young boy in the early 60s and England has always been a favorite of mine.
I’m glad they are leaving the EU.
It seems to be mostly the rich and powerful elite who wanted Britain to stay in the EU. Why would a country, any country, want to turn over its sovereignty to a set of unelected bureaucrats that have their own best interest at heart.
I predict that the doom and gloom scenarios predicted by these very elite, if (now when) Brexit passes, will mostly be non-existent.
You nailed it. The rich, the powerful, the connected are always going to be better off in an undemocratic state where they can wield undue influence and ignore the will of the peons.
I’m a little grumpy that my wife and I have a scheduled withdrawal from our retirement savings today. The market will take a big hit and so will we. But it is a small price to pay for having my second-favorite country reassert itself and take the first step towards becoming great again.
I’m glad they voted to leave; EU is a monstrosity. However, the results were almost even, the difference between those who wanted to leave and those who wanted to stay is less than 5%. Stay did really well with some demographics, like the those under 35 and the Scotts. If they hold another referendum 5 years from now, are you sure they will not vote to go back?
1. They may not be welcome back. Certainly that’s what the Remain campaign claimed, and wat the EU is claiming now. Of course that doesn’t mean they won’t change their minds in 5 years.
2. It really all depends on what happens. If disaster doesn’t strike, then exit will become more popular, since all the people who voted to Remain only because they were scared by the panicmongers will come around. But if disaster does strike then those people who only voted to Leave because they were assured that the panicmongers were wrong will regret their choice.
3. On the other side of the coin the same applies: if Europe suffers then they may be willing to climb down off their high horse and readmit the UK if and when it wants to come back. But if they do well while the UK flounders then then they will be more inclined to make the UK lie in the bed it made, as an example for others.
Thank you.
I’m mostly objecting to the populist take on Brexit, though.
This whole breakup might have been avoided for a while longer had not the bureaucrats in Brussels clung to their absurd open borders policy in the face of a Muslim invasion.
Your point that sanctioning the Open Borders policy is/was the “last straw” to the outcome which just happened. Four years ago at CPAC, Daniel Hannan, a Conservative Rep. to EU/Brussels was invited to speak. If you take the time to listen it was a prophecy not just for what just happened across the pond, but for us, coming into the most contentious election and for the direction for our country.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2OOtQs0A8k
The EU business PR plan by the government missed one opportunity that would have delivered the right result. many years ago we weren’t in the EU and we decided to go in. We probably examined the pros and cons. Presumably the pro’s would have been detailed and we should reflect on what those were and if we did achieve what was set out.
With that knowledge we could have made an informed decision. Instead we had two sides simply confusing the people.
We had a great turn out but the results are too close for comfort.
Yes we exit but at the same time we have lost a leader that had a vision.
We need to pause quickly and get our house in order. A definitive plan with both sides being united. After all its what the people wanted.
The UK never made a decision to join the EU. What it joined was the Common Market, and the advantages that brought were considerable. It was never meant to be a super-state with its own laws. But that then slowly morphed into the monster that is the modern EU, and at each step the government was faced with a choice of going along or leaving altogether, and it always made the “safe” choice. The people were never asked.
The term “creeping incrementalism” applies in so many places.
Not true. The European Economic Community (EEC), colloquially know as the common market as it was a customs union, was always intended to to become the EU with its own laws superseding what it now condescendingly calls “national laws.”
That was clear from the start. The preamble to the 1957 Rome treaty that established the EEC committed the member states to “lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe.” This language was specifically included to commit the member states to the eventual goal of political union, not just economic union. The brain trust behind the idea of establishing the EEC have admitted this. And they also have admitted that intended to be deceptive about it, as they knew they’d have to boil the frogs slowly so they wouldn’t jump out of the pot. I.e. leave what would become the EU, as planned.
Britain didn’t join until 1973. And the then PM had to join in the deceit to do it.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2255506/Monumental-deceit-How-politicians-lied-lied-true-purpose-European-behemoth.html
“Forty years ago today, in what was arguably the most fateful political move ever made by a British Prime Minister, Edward Heath took us into what was then called the ‘Common Market’.
Such a step had scarcely been mentioned at the previous General Election, and the British people had very little idea of what they were letting themselves in for, other than a trading arrangement that might make it easier for us to sell our goods to our Continental neighbours.
Four decades later, the picture could scarcely look more different. We have seen that supposedly cosy club we joined transformed, step by step, into a vast, bloated bureaucratic empire, imposing its suffocating rule over 27 nations.
…The real problem the British people have had with the ‘European project’, as its insiders call it, is that they have never really begun to understand its real nature, and what was always intended to be its ultimate goal.
The chief reason for this is that our politicians have never properly explained it to us.
What makes this so much worse is that those who were most enthused by it, such as Heath, knew full well what ‘the project’ was really about — the plan to weld all Europe together under an unprecedented form of super-government.
They deliberately decided to conceal it from us, for fear that our anxieties about our loss of sovereignty might prevent them from being allowed to join.
…The real story, surprisingly, goes back to the 1920s, when a senior League of Nations official, Frenchman Jean Monnet, first began to dream of building a ‘United States of Europe’, very much on the lines that decades later would shape the European Union as it is today.
After World War II, Monnet, by then the second most powerful man in France, finally set the project on its way. He knew there was no chance of bringing such an astonishingly ambitious vision into being all at once. So his plan was that it should gradually be constructed, piece by stealthy piece, without ever declaring too openly what was intended to be its ultimate goal.
…As we see from Cabinet papers and other documents of the early Sixties, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and his ‘Europe Minister’ Edward Heath were put completely in the picture about the secret ‘grand plan’. But in June 1961 the Cabinet formally agreed that it must not be revealed to the British people.
In Macmillan’s words, to admit ‘the political objectives’ of the Rome Treaty would raise ‘problems of public relations’ so ‘considerable’ that they should be kept under wraps. It was vital to emphasise only the economic advantages of British entry…”
When Heath brought the UK into the EEC, he told the British people that they would not be giving up any of their sovereignty. But he knew when he signed the UK up for the “European project” that was entirely untrue. But he also knew by the time the Brits discovered the lie it wouldn’t be for decades and by then it should be too late.
This article was written about four years ago. The author mentions a colleague, Richard North. He has maintained Eurosceptic website for since 2004, and is well qualified to blog on the subject since prior to that he was a MEP.
http://www.eureferendum.com/
He and Booker have done yeoman’s work exposing the fraud the creators of the EU intended to perpetrate on the people of
Europe from the very beginning.
Cameron kept his promise to hold the referendum, presided over many important (but rather unsung) reforms in the UK, and finally went out with dignity. Never been a fan, but that’s not bad.
Certainly more class than the little stompy-foot punk bitch we’re suffering through.
Not the old time festivities of defenestration, pork pies, and horses at the ready for the drawing and quartering but I have a great deal of satisfaction and hope for the future.
It’s quite amazing. You have to give the man his credit.
So happy with the result, it gives us hope. This afternoon we have midsummer celebrations…AND I FEEL LIKE CELEBRATING. SKÅL EVERYBODY.
Not for nothing but I was forced to assist a small influential PR firm for the EU 1992 rollout. If I knew then what I know now my actions would have been different. Thinking back I never trusted or liked that French Woman Project Leader. -Paul
The historic catastrophe was JOINING in the first place. This removes one entire level of meddling.
I remember when the EU was created, the enemies of the US celebrated with joy the upcoming fall of America as a world leader.
They thought that the EU was going to take America’s place as the engine of the world’s economy. They thought the Euro was going to replace the Dollar.
They thought, predicted and celebrated.
I also remember that I thought, “Sure. Just wait and see.”
Until very recently, the same idgits were claiming the Chinese yuan would replace the dollar as the standard currency of international trade. Questions about China’s economic stability seem to have quieted them, for now.
Polls predict 5 point Remain win but the election is a 4 point Leave victory. Donald Trump has exceeded expectations nearly every primary. This bodes well for him in November.
My only disappointment so far is that I haven’t seen a three-mile high headline that simply said “Brexit”.
This is Britain’s William Wallace moment.
FREEEEEDDDDDOOOOOMMMMM!
The EU and Obama and Soros disavowed. Yes! And the 40k bureaucrats of the EU who wanted to regulate life for the Brits.
To get a sense of what the Brits have been dealing with, here is MP Daniel Hannan’s article re: The European Parliament’s gargantuan edifices are the perfect symbols of the larger Euro-racket.
https://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/The-objective-correlative-of-the-E-U–8082
Sadly, the media has done a massive share of fear mongering about Brexit. And the markets are influenced by such crap.
The markets should be excited about the risk taking and the freed up monies from Britain not having to make weekly massive payments to the EU.
Buying opportunity.
Yep! Hopefully things settle down Monday and Tuesday and then there will be some good buys.
The banks here are in good shape. I’ll be watching the pounded European banks to see if they stop going down.
Congratulations to the British for taking back their country.
Hope their example inspires others.
There will be. Its musical chairs time. How’s gonna be left holding the EU’s financial and immigration bag o’ poo?
Shamelessly stolen from the interwebs…
“‘Brexit’ to be followed by Grexit. Departugal. Italeave. Fruckoff. Czechout. Oustria. Finish. Slovakout. Latervia. Byegium.”
You made me spit my coffee all over my keyboard, but it was well worth it!
HILARIOUS!
Belgium can’t leave. They only have two industries. Chocolate and all those outfits providing services to the EU headquarters.
As I’m of half Irish, traditional catholic stock I’ve always been somewhat ambivalent about England. With this vote I give the English common man & woman full credit.
Last year was the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. One can’t be all condemnatory with a people with an unbroken 800 year history of common men & women standing before authority & saying no ; no more.
I wasn’t sure they were going to pull it off until BHO spoke out in favor of “Remain.” I’d like to think this result was due in part to many Brits looking for a way to say “sod off, Barry”.
This vote and how the polls were WRONG bodes very well for Donald Trump in November. The national populists composed of union members and middle class and small business owners all rose up to slap down the establishment elites in BOTH PARTIES (or should I say all parties).
It mirrors quite a bit the issues of immigration, national sovereignty, border control and Americanism that are all material parts of Mr. Trump’s appeal.
Interesting how things spin around Trump – directly and indirectly. This was a major repudiation of Obama and Clinton. Bodes well for the election in November.
Hope the feckless Ryan and Turtleman are watching closely.
and of course Ryan says meaningless pablum about Brexit…
Today Donald Trump went to Scotland and praised Brexit, congratulating the locals on “tak[ing] their country back”:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/25/us/politics/donald-trump-scotland.html?_r=0
But all of Scotland voted remain. All of it. And it might at some point in near future vote to part with England.
You can’t make it up!
EdgeoftheLITTERbox. Trump was in the UK speaking to the UK, all of the UK, in opposition to Obama’s anti-UK petulance. Yes Scotland wanted to REMAIN but Scotland also wants out of the UK. They should leave the UK, and then they are free to make their country great or make it a socialist wasteland as they may choose.
“You can’t make it up!”
Right on cue, the kook speaks.
The rabble is so excited about the removal of one layer of big government going on with Britain that they want to throw out America’s first principles and install Trump of Yuge Deal Towers as their monarch.
This move, they believe, will destroy Queen Hillary and keep her from power. Little do they know that Queen Hillary is Trump’s sister.
Oh, of course! Conservatives have always been joined at the hip with BIG UNIONS on trade and economic policy. Just like small business is JUST like BIG CRONY CAPITALISM.
Jeebus, you people just beat all.
Rags, wrong as usual. The BIG UNIONS were for REMAIN. But middle class union MEMBERS ignored their union bosses and voted for LEAVE. The Labour Party and some of the conservative party and the globalist big business crowd represented the globalists open borders types and were for REMAIN.
Just as I wrote it was the union MEMBERS and small business owners and middle class workers all killed by massive top down regulations and open borders that voted LEAVE.
Under Ronald Reagan conservatives were joined at the hip with UNION MEMBERS but NOT the unions themselves (excepting the Teamsters). Since Reagan the GOPe conservatives of which your boy Cruz is one on trade, became joined at the hip with the global corporations and other DC elitists while divorcing themselves from their base voters which under Reagan included Union Members, middle class workers, small business owners, and main street small town America.
These GOPe conservatives sold out to open borders, unlimited immigration, and big government policies. They became the crony capitalists you decry constantly. You are right about crony capitalists being bad. You just are WRONG about who are the REAL crony capitalists. They aren’t the ones you say they are.
Now the equivalent of the old Reagan coalition members in UK have risen up against the odds, elitists, globalists, and big media and taken their sovereignty back.
These same issues are what the election here is all about. It isn’t about the GOPe big government, open borders, so called conservatism of Cruz, Ryan, and McConnell. Its about the old Reagan coalition of union members, middle class workers, and small business owners of main street taking back the USA. Its about our national sovereignty and return of our trade and foreign policies back to common sense “AMERICA FIRST” policies.
Its about #TRUMP2016 !!
(The polls were wrong about BREXIT and here in the USA they similarly are wrong about Hillary’s support and Mr. Trump’s lead among the voters.)
#NeverTrumpers supporting Hillary and a radical leftist supreme court because that’s what conservatism demands. What ????
“Oh, of course! Conservatives have always been joined at the hip with BIG UNIONS on trade and economic policy.”
Learn to read, honey.
You can’t put a knife between Berney Sanders and Der Donald on trade policy. They’re both just Collectivist pukes. Command economy fan-bois. And they’re both economics idiots.
Trump is protectionist, Leave champions lobbied against protectionism:
https://www.commentarymagazine.com/politics-ideas/no-americans-brexit-isnt-trump/
I read quite well Deary. My post referred to union Members. Your reply tried to conflate union MEMBERS with BIG UNIONS. I pointed out your attempted diversion and obfuscation was incorrect, and that Reagan’s coalition included union MEMBERS. Reagan being the gold standard for conservatism in my opinion I went on to discuss how under Reagan Conservatism, Conservatism was joined at the hip with union MEMBERS.
Yes Sanders and Trump both identify our stupid free one-way only non-America First trade deals our bad. Sanders on the other hand has no clue what to do. Trump DOES !! Trump will renegotiate the deals so they become free trade deals in BOTH directions, and prohibit currency manipulations from becoming indirect tariffs to USA goods. Trump will use the threat of tariffs as leverage to force better deals. Trump understands that no trade deal is far BETTER than free one-way ONLY trade deals that have destroyed our jobs and middle class over the last 35 years.
“I read quite well Deary. My post referred to union Members. Your reply tried to conflate union MEMBERS with BIG UNIONS. I pointed out your attempted diversion and obfuscation…”
You are a liar and projectionist.
My original post, about which you attempted diversion and obfuscation…
https://legalinsurrection.com/2016/06/brexit-britain-votes-to-leave-eu-prime-minister-cameron-resigns/comment-page-1/#comment-681627
“Stupid free one-way only non-America First trade deals” are free trade. “America First” is by definition protectionism and restricted trade.
Reagan was a Free Trader.
Trump understands that no trade deal is far BETTER than free one-way ONLY trade deals
That makes no sense — for unilateral free trade we don’t need to make any deals. We just declare trade to be free on our side, and don’t care what anyone else does. And yes, that is preferable to protection. But every trade deal, by definition, requires some degree of freedom from the other side; that’s what the deal is for. And that’s even better than unilateral free trade. But Reagan understood that free trade is a good thing even if nobody reciprocates.
Millhouse, during Reagan’s time currency manipulation wasn’t the problem for trade deals that it is today with China and others. Reagan would adjust to changing facts on the ground and not be the dogmatic general leading the nation over the cliff of trade deals that turned out to be free trade for one side only.
Reagan even in his time did a 45% tariff on Japanese motorcycle imports in order to save JOBS at Harley Davidson. Reagan was not a dogmatic unthinking robot when it came to trade or anything else. Reagan unlike the sell out globalist conservatives of today was quite capable of adjusting policies in the face of changing and compelling circumstances.
Currency manipulation is just one of those changing and compelling circumstances Reagan would have adjusted to. Just like TRUMP.
You poor stupid thing. Name a country that DOES NOT “manipulate its currency”.
Name one during Reagan’s terms. You have no idea what you are talking about. Typical T-rump cultist.
Oh, and who does Sessions work with almost daily? It is NOT Der Donald. You need to read more, “so-called”.
Sessions works daily with TRUMP of course. Sessions leads several of Trumps executive committees. Sessions is one of the finalists for being Trump’s V.P. choice.
And who did Sessions ENDORSE for President? That was TRUMP (not your boy Cruz).
Cruz recently managed to tag along on a Sessions letter to try and get his name back in the news. Is that what you call working with Sessions daily?? LOL
Sessions is on television every day supporting Trump. Talking about Trump and his support and endorsement of Trump.
You are a liar, delusional, or a delusional liar.
Put up some links for all your bullshit.
Ah, the Ragspierre mating call of what to say when cornered and nothing of any intellectual merit for a reply.
Not my job to educate you Deary. You need to read more or google up Sessions appearance on TV or google up Sessions work for the Trump campaign. Surely you aren’t so uninformed that you are unaware Sessions ENDORSED TRUMP (not Cruz) during the primaries.
Here just from today. Sessions says after Brexit vote now its America’s turn to take the country back. Here’s a clue Sessions ain’t talking about taking the country back by voting for Hillary. LOL
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/06/24/sen-jeff-sessions-brexit-now-americas-turn/
Shorter Salad: “I got notin'”.
Poor rags. Still hurting over Sessions rejecting your phony.
A sad, sore loser.
Poor Ukraine.
I suspect all the “regular folks” in the remaining EU membership are hoping for the same chance the British people got. Brussels is DC on steroids, booze, and hallucinogens.
Disclosure: I am not by any stretch of imagination qualified to be a regular person and nobody in Europe would ever think that. I also don’t know very much about the politics in every single European country.
However, lots of regular young Brits feel cheated today. The thought they can graduate from college and look for a job in Barcelona, but, it turns out, they have to stay in rainy, foggy London.
Moreover, there are poor countries in the east and the south of Europe that benefit greatly from the EU loans. Moreover, the EU is the mechanism for inclusion into NATO, bringing the nations up to the level where they can pay NATO membership fees. So I’m not sure how, for instance, the Baltics or even Hungary feel about Brexit.
I think there is a lot of unease.
EdgeoftheLITTERbox, Yes the new UK graduates won’t be able to NOT find a job in Barcelona any longer, but now maybe they WILL be able to find a job in LONDON because LONDON won’t be flooded with new immigrants like Barcelona (assuming spain stays in the EU which is doubtful).
Yes, less money from UK to prop up smaller socialist regimes for the EU. They might actually have to get back to actual WORK. What a concept.
British youth insufficiently patriotic? Let’s attack whoever points it out with vitriol.
So does this do in the NAU?
Probably not enough.
I’m pulling for Texit…
(h/t Patterico)
that would out you out of the country..excellent!
…and away from Trumps and Trumphoids. That would be even better than excellent for Rags!
Illexit doesn’t sound too good. So, I had better move to Texas to get in on the Texit and Yuge Freedom.
Trumps: “Little people, I have such big golf stories. You wouldn’t believe.”
…and you’d still be stuck in Philly, FillyGui. By choice.
Heh…!!!
I will miss TX.
P-rags
You are Patterico.
Good job patting yourself on the back.
DoubleSucks, you are out of your poor lil’ mind.
There are people here who know me, and the Prof. has my law firm address.
You are simply badly wired. And a liar.
The information I utilize comes from you.
The problem with lies is twofold.
1. The liar comes to believe his own lies.
2. When you distribute as many lies as you do you soon have trouble keeping them all straight.
I have no idea what you’re all about. How much is deception & what is lie. Furthermore I don’t really care. I do know this beyond doubt. To make yourself larger you consistently tear others down.
It’s pointless to try to have a meaningful conversation with people like you who trade in deception & messy & self serving logic designed to present a false image.
“The information I utilize comes from you.”
Easily disproven, you poor insane little liar.
Put up your source.
Ps ; add after last sentence.
“And in addition are tedious & boring.”
“The information I utilize comes from you.”
Easily disproven, you poor insane little liar.
Put up your source.
This is a very minor thing of course, but one thing I note: The PM is outside his official residence. Outside. He is able to make his speech without the more or less constant clackety-clack of camera shutters or the lightning storm of flashing strobe units from a sycophantic press.
How very refreshing.
Mr. Cameron: take Cher and Lindsay Lohan with you. (And even Kim Kardashian, if there’s room for her fake ass in the trunk.)