On June 23rd, 2016 residents of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.
So, what happens now?
Well, to be honest, we don’t know.
This is absolutely unprecedented.
This is as if Texas actually managed to secede from the United States.
So far, there have been several immediate effects.
First, within hours of the vote, the UK’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, announced his
resignation.
Cameron supported the push to stay part of the EU, while his likely replacement, Conservative
former London Mayor, Boris Johnson, pushed to leave, calling Brexit a “glorious opportunity”.
But so far, things have been far from glorious.
Since the vote, the British pound has collapsed in value, dropping to levels unseen in the
last thirty years, and threatening to drop below the dollar, which has apparently never
happened before.
The Euro, too saw a steep, but less severe drop.
When the London Stock Exchange opened the morning after the vote, the top 100 companies
had collectively dropped more than 500 points, the largest fall since the 2008 economic crisis.
And despite the dollar rising in response, the Dow Jones stock market index dropped more
than 600 points, its worst day in five years.
And although the stocks have slightly recovered following the initial panic, the future of
the UK’s economy does not look bright.
London is the most important financial center in Europe, and financial markets have accounted
for 10% of the UK’s GDP.
But by leaving the EU, the UK will no longer be party to the EU’s financial regulations,
making it impossible to rely on for financial investment until new regulations are established.
Many economists say that this will significantly damage the UK and EU economies.
In one scenario proposed by the International Monetary Fund, by 2017 Britain will fall into
a recession, and unemployment could hit 7% by the following year, coupled with severe
inflation.
Although, as a result of the pound being cheaper, trade will likely rise, although that’s
not necessarily worth it for UK residents.
And while we’ve talked about other countries following the UK’s example of leaving the
EU, one unexpected result from the referendum showed that the majority of Scotland voted
to stay, as opposed to the rest of the UK.
This is because when Scotland held their own vote to leave the UK back in 2014, many agreed
to stay under the assumption that the UK would remain part of the EU.
Now that that’s no longer the case, it would be unfathomable for Scotland not to hold a
second referendum, and it’s likely they’d finally gain their independence.
Similarly, UK controlled Northern Ireland is already discussing unification with the
rest of Ireland, nearly a century after their division.
So, the question is, how did this all happen?
Why would the UK vote for something with such negative consequences, that nearly all polls
showed wouldn’t happen?
In a nutshell, age.
75% of 18- to 24-year-olds voted to stay, compared to less than 40% of those over 65.
Some have referred to the results as the older generation voting for a future that the younger
generation doesn’t want.
Some suggest that older voters were swayed by arguments that there would be money available
for their health care, and that it would help restrict immigration.
Meanwhile, many youth voters hoped to stay and reap the same benefits as their parents,
such as free travel throughout Europe and greater educational and economic opportunity.
We spoke with several people living in the United Kingdom to get their take on the situation.
Tom, 24, London it’s a sense of shock, but also recognizing
that the country is extremely divided.
Liam, 24, Manchester To be honest I’m a might heartbroken about
it all.
It feels like a bit of my national identity has been taken away from me when I voted against
it.
Shini Somara, Ph.D Science and Technology reporter, BBC, London
I think that now that we're out of the EU it doesn't stop continuing to be a very united
kingdom.
Geraldine Jowett, Ph.D candidate, UK 3:08 The overwhelming consensus I always have
felt was certain of betrayal from older generations for having voted this way when they probably
won’t have to live with the repercussions in the same way that we will.3:23
Neil Mitra, business owner, Remain, London This is really going to be a choppy couple
of years rough couple of years.
Although the referendum has passed, it is not an immediate process.
The vote triggers Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, and could take as long
as two years to actually break away.
Already, UK residents are calling for a second referendum.
But the immediate effects are devastating, and there is no question that both the United
Kingdom and the European Union will be changed forever.