BBC now forecasting a Leave vote. That seems sad to me, particularly as it now seems pretty inevitable that Scotland will vote to leave the UK as soon as they can (they voted 62% in favour of Remain which gives the SNP a good reason to run another independence vote).
I'd be perso sorry to see Britain go - but as a democratic exercise this is a grand moment.
Either way, I think EU needs must look why such a good idea (in my view at least) is so poorly implemented that a whole lot of Europeans feel quite disenfranchised from it.
Two great points right here, regardless of the outcome.
I'm curious to know what this result will mean for Gibraltar.
It won't directly change their status as a British overseas territory. However, Spain claims the territory as well and will be able to make their lives pretty difficult in future. In the past they've imposed blockades on the movement of people there, but that's been much harder for them when Gibraltar was part of the EU due to the EU enforcing their free movement rules on Spain. In future they will have the option to close the border (and I would be surprised if they don't make use of that option).
"LONDON (AP) — Britain entered uncharted waters Friday after the country voted to leave the European Union, according to a projection by all main U.K. broadcasters. The decision shatters the stability of the project in continental unity forged after World War II in hopes of making future conflicts impossible.
The decision raises the likelihood of years of negotiations over trade, business and political links with what will become a 27-nation bloc. In essence the vote marks the start — rather than the end — of a process that could take decades to unwind.
The "leave" side was ahead by 51.7 percent to 48.3 percent with more than three-quarters of votes tally, making a "remain" win a statistical near-impossibility."
Yes! We're out! What the results have shown (and what I've believed for a long time) is that London (in the broadest political and social sense) is completely out of touch with, and does not represent, the rest of England.
This will have major implications and the future for more than just the UK is now very uncertain.
This is why you don't put complicated matters of global financial and social implications up to a popular vote. I point you to George Carlin as to why....
Pound has cratered. Global oil prices will skyrocket within a week. Scotland and Northern Ireland are already making gestures for independence. The UK isn't even going to exist anymore, and it really doesn't deserve to after tonight, though I'd bet dollars to donuts that the same people who voted for Brexit will be AGAINST the Scotland and Northern Ireland striking out on their own to stay in the EU.
It's not wrong at all @Chnapy - some people are already calling David Cameron 'The Man That Killed Two Unions' ....
The second union is the EU itself . There are Netherlands politicians already calling for their own referendum and I suspect there are a number of the older EU countries that would vote to leave if given the chance - and the EU wouldn't survive multiple countries leaving in anything like its current form.
I just now realized that what I was trying to attempt earlier was defusing the situtation by offering a distraction in the form of our age-old UK-France conflict, when people who need that distraction the most need it because (I thought) they might feel isolated from their brethren for their desire to live along with their neighbours.
And it made me think maybe because of this a distraction playing on our old friendly, neighbourly hate for each other wasn't in very good taste.
So instead you get a hug from beyong the channel : *hug* (these hugs are still free of taxes, get them while they're hot!)
We can go back to hating each other when things are looking better.
@JuliusBorisov Highly unlikely. The other nations will be observing the short and long term effects, which will be massive. Already we are seeing the short term effects, which obviously aren't positive.
It doesn't feel like the end of western civilization.
No, that's not how this is going to work. It will take years to see the damage in multiple areas. For starters, the older generation of British citizens had effectively burned the bridge behind them to opportunities in other European countries they will need when the Brexit crowd is dead and gone. Scotland and Ireland are making moves immediately to break with the UK to stay in the EU. It gives even more credence to a growing right-wing populism in Western countries (Trump) that is bordering on neo-fascism. And the UK has essentially self-immolated their own economy out of fear of immigrant refugees. It's a big problem.
@Fardragon I don't think Cameron will starve to death even though he has resigned :'D
His political career ends in failure and ignominy, I'm sure he thinks that is worse (if only because he has never been hungry enough to imagine what starving would be like).
He will come in at number two, behind Chamberlin but ahead of Blair, on the league table of "British PMs remembered forever for really screwing things up big time".
@Fardragon I don't think Cameron will starve to death even though he has resigned :'D
His political career ends in failure and ignominy, I'm sure he thinks that is worse (if only because he has never been hungry enough to imagine what starving would be like).
He will come in at number two, behind Chamberlin but ahead of Blair, on the league table of "British PMs remembered forever for really screwing things up big time".
An unbelievable, historic mishap of letting this come up for a vote. Prime Ministers don't resign in total disgrace the night after a earth-shaking vote because something positive happened to the country. I mean, it happened almost instantly.
It isn't hard to get people as a collective to do something totally irrational, all you have to do is play to their basest fears and the "id" as it were. Now you see calls for a United Ireland, Scotland is looking for the nearest exit, as they should at this point. Even more terrifying?? It signals and portends the real danger of Trump here in the US, who ironically landed in Scotland this morning and clearly doesn't have the slightest fucking idea what just happened or even rudimentary knowledge of the issue.
Comments
This is an update from MSN.com:
"LONDON (AP) — Britain entered uncharted waters Friday after the country voted to leave the European Union, according to a projection by all main U.K. broadcasters. The decision shatters the stability of the project in continental unity forged after World War II in hopes of making future conflicts impossible.
The decision raises the likelihood of years of negotiations over trade, business and political links with what will become a 27-nation bloc. In essence the vote marks the start — rather than the end — of a process that could take decades to unwind.
The "leave" side was ahead by 51.7 percent to 48.3 percent with more than three-quarters of votes tally, making a "remain" win a statistical near-impossibility."
See more here: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/uk-pound-plunges-as-referendum-results-point-to-eu-exit/ar-AAhvpYk?li=BBnb7Kz
Vote tally from http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/brexit-live-election-results/ar-AAhpf6e?li=BBnb7Kz
REMAIN
48.2%
LEAVE
51.8%
Local authorities reported : 364/382
Updated: 24/06/2016 06:45
I gotta say though, I'm suprised that they actually did it.
Also, if the United Kindgom disintegrate, is it wrong if just a lil bit of rejoicing takes place here in France? Old habits die hard, after all.
(okay, okay, I'm joking)
And it made me think maybe because of this a distraction playing on our old friendly, neighbourly hate for each other wasn't in very good taste.
So instead you get a hug from beyong the channel :
*hug*
(these hugs are still free of taxes, get them while they're hot!)
We can go back to hating each other when things are looking better.
It doesn't feel like the end of western civilization.
He will come in at number two, behind Chamberlin but ahead of Blair, on the league table of "British PMs remembered forever for really screwing things up big time".
It isn't hard to get people as a collective to do something totally irrational, all you have to do is play to their basest fears and the "id" as it were. Now you see calls for a United Ireland, Scotland is looking for the nearest exit, as they should at this point. Even more terrifying?? It signals and portends the real danger of Trump here in the US, who ironically landed in Scotland this morning and clearly doesn't have the slightest fucking idea what just happened or even rudimentary knowledge of the issue.