Supporters of the ‘Stronger In’ Campaign react as results of the EU referendum are announced at a results party at the Royal Festival Hall in London/AFP
LONDON, United Kingdom, Jun 24 – Britain has voted to break out of the European Union, national media declared Friday, striking a thunderous blow against the bloc and spreading alarm through markets as sterling plummeted to a 31-year low against the dollar.
Investors scrambled to sell the pound, oil and stocks as Britain took a lurch into the unknown, becoming the first country to quit in the EU’s 60-year history, a culmination of decades of suspicion over European aims of creating an ever-closer political union.
With results in for 302 of the 382 areas that took part across Britain, the result was 52 percent for “Leave” and 48 percent for “Remain” — with heavyweights including London yet to be declared.
Sterling tumbled to $1.3466, its weakest level since 1985.
“Let June 23 go down in our history as our independence day,” said top anti-EU campaigner Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Indendence Party, who has promised Britons the chance to retake power from Brussels and rein in high immigration.
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