BREAKING NEWS: BRITAIN VOTES TO LEAVE THE EUROPEAN UNION Stunned Cameron intends to resign British, German markets plunge

[Teh One Who Knocks]

The Associated Press


http://i.imgur.com/HSwPgWQ.jpg

LONDON – Voters in Britain are deciding Thursday whether the country should remain in the European Union — a historic referendum that has exposed deep divisions over issues of sovereignty and national identity.

More than 46 million people are registered to vote in the referendum, which asks: "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" The heated campaign saw the nation take stock of its place in the modern world, even as it questioned the direction it wanted to take in the future.

"This is, I'd say, the most important day in the past 20 years, at least for the U.K., and the economic consequences of a vote out are huge," said investment banker Hasan Naqvi outside a London polling station.

"Leave" campaigners claim that only a British exit can restore power to Parliament and control immigration. The "remain" campaign led by Prime Minister David Cameron argues that Britain is safer and richer inside the 28-nation EU.

Financial markets have been volatile ahead of the vote, with opinion polls suggesting a tight race. The pound has surged over the week amid market optimism that uncertainty over the vote would end with a vote to stay. The pound briefly hit $1.48 in overnight trading, the highest level since the beginning of the year.

Turnout is considered critical in the vote, as polling suggested there were a number of undecided voters. A large turnout will favor the "remain" campaign as those who waver at the end tend to go for the status quo. Those favoring "leave" also tend to be more committed.

"It's all about turnout and those soft 'remainers' staying at home," U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said outside his home after collecting the newspapers.

"I do think we are in with a very strong chance, I do genuinely," he said.

It was raining heavily in some parts of the country, which could reduce turnout.

Downpours and flooding swamped parts of London and southeastern Britain. London's Fire Brigade received hundreds of calls of weather-related incidents early Thursday, including some reports of flooding and lightning strikes.

Weather forecasters quipped that voters in the southeast would need umbrellas and possibly rubber boots in order to cast ballots.

"I think it's very important to vote in such a big decision," said voter Belinda Byrne in Teddington, southwest London. "It's going to have a huge impact on the country."

[redred]

Glad when it's all counted tbh getting bored of it

[Teh One Who Knocks]

What's your prediction Red?

[DemonGeminiX]

More drinking. :lol:

[redred]

Really don't know, if Facebook is anything to go by its out but it will be close and I think somehow in will crawl in then everyone's tinfoil sense will go into overdrive

[Goofy]

Oot!!!

[redred]

More drinking. :lol:

:lol: i can do that in or out

[FBD]

Voters decided :lol: Whomever wrote that really has no clue, because this is a totally non binding referendum and the government's policy is to stay in. So even if by some insane chance not enough electoral fraud happens and Brexit rightfully wins, you can bet your left nut that the government will find a way not to follow the voter's wishes.

Murder, included.

[redred]

The tinfoil starts early :lol:

[FBD]

oh yes of course, the lone nutter that's so juiced up on something he cant even remember his address....totally grassroots :lol:

[redred]

me ? i've always managed to find my way home when i choose to :lol:

[RBP]

:lol:

Like an outdoor cat.

[redred]

:lol: sometime i can fly myself home or ride the unicorn of life

[PorkChopSandwiches]

http://i.imgur.com/VTyYNNG.png

[redred]

:fu: Apu

[PorkChopSandwiches]

https://i.imgur.com/6hDRsGK.gif

[redred]

I postal voted about 3 weeks ago so been bored ever since :lol:

[redred]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160623/eb8fc72bfa3d43b341f73678675146b2.jpg

[PorkChopSandwiches]

http://graphics.wsj.com/brexit/img/brexit-slow.gif

[DemonGeminiX]

So, if I just heard correctly, the voters aren't actually deciding jack shit? It's a non-binding vote? If y'all are going to leave, then Parliament will have to vote for it to actually happen?

Then why the hell am I watching this bullshit?

[Griffin]

so the electoral process serves the same purpose over the entire planet. Placate the populace into believing their voice matters when in reality the decision has already been made for them.

[redred]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160624/304908c5e89f259d6ea56bd503d1d4d2.jpg

[redred]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160624/4cb4605f4feae21c04e5e63f06194f33.jpg

Sure you voted out goof?

[Godfather]

Markets are tanking... Nikkei down, British Pound down

I'm 75% cash and I'm ready to buy baby :drool:

[redred]

Bitcoins are up

[Godfather]

Ya and gold is obviously going to do really well.

[redred]

It will calm down soonish we've only just fucked up Europe, most are still in bed :lol:

[redred]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160624/723ebf61c1a63a4448d6747f3112a2e7.jpg

[Goofy]

:woot:

[redred]

Sturgeon is already saying about another Scottish independent vote :lol: you could be going back in goof

[Goofy]

Sturgeon is already saying about another Scottish independent vote :lol: you could be going back in goof

No chance it would go through now anyway mate, the "no" group would all still vote "no" while a lot of "yes" voters (myself inc) will have changed their minds now :)

[Goofy]

Cameron's resigned :rofl: What a twat, "its my ball and im no playing" :lol:

[DemonGeminiX]

:shock:

Wow.

[redred]

what part :lol: it was all on the cards really

[DemonGeminiX]

Dude, everything's just changed. In one night.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

The Associated Press


http://i.imgur.com/akRCDMN.jpg

LONDON – Britain voted to leave the European Union after a bitterly divisive referendum campaign, toppling the British government, sending global markets plunging Friday and shattering the stability of a project in continental unity designed half a century ago to prevent World War III.

The decision launches a yearslong process to renegotiate trade, business and political links between the United Kingdom and what will become a 27-nation bloc, an unprecedented divorce that could take decades to complete.

"The dawn is breaking on an independent United Kingdom," said Nigel Farage, leader of the U.K. Independence Party. "Let June 23 go down in our history as our independence day!"

Prime Minister David Cameron, who had led the campaign to keep Britain in the EU, said he would resign by October when his Conservative Party holds its annual conference. He said the next prime minister would decide when to invoke Article 50, which triggers a departure from European Union.

"I will do everything I can as prime minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months," he said, "but I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers the country to its next destination."

The electoral commission said 52 percent of voters opted to leave the EU. Turnout was high: 72 percent of the more than 46 million registered voters went to the polls. Polls ahead of the vote had shown a close race, but the momentum had increasingly appeared to be on the "remain" side over the last week.

The result shocked investors, and stock markets plummeted around the world, with key indexes dropping 10 percent in Germany and about 8 percent in Japan and Britain.

The pound dropped to its lowest level since 1985, plunging more than 10 percent from about $1.50 to as low as $1.35 on concerns that severing ties with the single market will hurt the U.K. economy and undermine London's position as a global financial center. The Bank of England pledged to take "all necessary steps" to keep Britain stable.

The U.K. would be the first major country to leave the EU, which was born from the ashes of World War II as European leaders sought to build links and avert future hostility. With no precedent, the impact on the single market of 500 million people — the world's largest economy — is unclear.

The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said the bloc will meet without Britain at a summit next week to assess its future, and Germany's Foreign Ministry said it will host a meeting Saturday of the top diplomats from the original six founding nations of the European Union. Tusk vowed not to let the vote derail the European project.

"What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger," he said.

But already, far-right leaders in France and the Netherlands were calling for a similar anti-EU vote.

The referendum showed Britain to be a sharply divided nation: Strong pro-EU votes in the economic and cultural powerhouse of London and semi-autonomous Scotland were countered by sweeping anti-Establishment sentiment for an exit across the rest of England, from southern seaside towns to rust-belt former industrial powerhouses in the north.

"It's a vindication of 1,000 years of British democracy," commuter Jonathan Campbell James declared at the train station in Richmond, southwest London. "From Magna Carta all the way through to now we've had a slow evolution of democracy, and this vote has vindicated the maturity and depth of the democracy in our country."

Others expressed anger and frustration. Olivia Sangster-Bullers, 24, called the result "absolutely disgusting."

"Good luck to all of us, I say, especially those trying to build a future with our children," she said.

Cameron called the referendum largely to silence voices to his right, then staked his reputation on keeping Britain in the EU. Former London Mayor Boris Johnson, who is from the same party, was the most prominent supporter of the "leave" campaign and now becomes a leading contender to replace Cameron. The vote also dealt a blow to the main opposition Labour Party, which threw its weight behind the "remain" campaign.

"A lot of people's grievances are coming out and we have got to start listening to them," said deputy Labour Party leader John McDonnell.

Indeed, the vote constituted a rebellion against the political and economic establishment. Farage called it "a victory for ordinary people, against the big banks, big business and big politics."

After winning a majority in Parliament in the last election, Cameron negotiated a package of reforms that he said would protect Britain's sovereignty and prevent EU migrants from moving to the U.K. to claim generous public benefits.

Critics charged that those reforms were hollow, leaving Britain at the mercy of bureaucrats in Brussels and doing nothing to stem the tide of European immigrants who have come to the U.K. since the EU expanded eastward in 2004. The "leave" campaign accuses the immigrants of taxing Britain's housing market, public services and employment rolls.

Those concerns were magnified by the refugee crisis of the past year that saw more than 1 million people from the Middle East and Africa flood into the EU as the continent's leaders struggled to come up with a unified response.

Cameron's efforts to find a slogan to counter the "leave" campaign's emotive "take back control" settled on "Brits don't quit." But the appeal to a Churchillian bulldog spirit and stoicism proved too little, too late.

The result triggers a new series of negotiations that is expected to last two years or more as Britain and the EU search for a way to separate economies that have become intertwined since the U.K. joined the bloc on Jan. 1, 1973. Until those talks are completed, Britain will remain a member of the EU.

Exiting the EU involves taking the unprecedented step of invoking Article 50 of the EU's governing treaty. While Greenland left an earlier, more limited version of the bloc in 1985, no country has ever invoked Article 50, so there is no roadmap for how the process will work.

Authorities ranging from the International Monetary Fund to the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England have warned that a British exit will reverberate through a world economy that is only slowly recovering from the global economic crisis.

"It will usher in a lengthy and possibly protracted period of acute economic uncertainty about the U.K.'s trading arrangements," said Daniel Vernazza, the U.K. economist at UniCredit.

The European Union is the world's biggest economy and the U.K.'s most important trading partner, accounting for 45 percent of exports and 53 percent of imports.

In addition, the complex nature of Britain's integration with the EU means that breaking up will be hard to do. The negotiations will go far beyond tariffs, including issues such as cross-border security, foreign policy cooperation and a common fisheries policy.

Among the biggest challenges for Britain is protecting the ability of professionals such as investment managers, accountants and lawyers to work in the EU.

As long as the U.K. is a member of the bloc, firms registered in Britain can operate in any other member state without facing another layer of regulation. It's the same principle that allows exporters to ship their goods to any EU country free of tariffs.

Now that right is up for negotiation, threatening the City, as London's financial heart is known, and its position as Europe's pre-eminent financial center.

Many international banks and brokerages have long used Britain as the entry point to the EU because of its trusted legal system and institutions that operate in English, the language of international finance. Britain's financial services industry is also surrounded by an ecosystem of expertise — lawyers, accountants and consultants— that support it.

Some 60 percent of all non-EU firms have their European headquarters in the U.K., according to TheCityUK, which lobbies on behalf of the financial industry. The U.K. hosts more headquarters of non-EU firms than Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands put together.

"We believe this outcome has serious implications for the City and many of our clients' businesses with exposure to the U.K. and the EU," said Malcolm Sweeting, senior partner of the law firm, Clifford Chance. "We are working alongside our clients to help them as they anticipate, plan for and manage the challenges the coming political and trade negotiations will bring."

JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said earlier this month that a vote to leave would force his bank to move jobs to mainland Europe to ensure that it could continue to service clients in the EU. Other global businesses with customers in the rest of the EU will be in a similar situation.

The only question that remains is whether the dire economic predictions economists made during the campaign will come to pass.

"Uncertainty is bad for business," Vernazza said. "A sharp fall in U.K. risky asset prices, delays to investment, disruption to trade, and a loss of business and consumer confidence mean the U.K. economy is more likely than not to enter a technical recession within two years."

[redred]

rather than being there till the end of the sinking EU ship we've jumped first , very unbritish of us :lol:

[DemonGeminiX]

Red, do you think it's gonna get a little harder for you to travel around Europe?

[redred]

I don't know, I do know that at this moment I can book a flight tomorrow and travel to Oz or the US so can't really see any difference tbh in that and travelling to Europe

[Fodster]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160624/0ad9c3ba9611685832c5d1c0e336e067.jpg

[RBP]

Stunning.

[Goofy]

Time to make Britain great again :tup:

[FBD]

I really hope parliament respects the voice of the people

[redred]

Red, do you think it's gonna get a little harder for you to travel around Europe?

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/8203-what-will-brexit-mean-for-european-holidays/story-29439237-detail/story.html

doesn't really answer anything but if you want to read be my guest :lol:

[DemonGeminiX]

I'll check it out later.

[FBD]

:lol:


Ha ... What will it mean ,,, back in the good old days I used to pick my holidays by what country was offering the best exchange rate ... Europe has been far too expensive for a holiday ever since the euro was introduced ... The far east is as cheap as chips so I have been going there for the last 15 years . The Czech Republic is also very good value for money , although the Czech Republic is in Europe they did NOT adopt the euro currency AND you can still smoke in pubs ETC ,,, and as an added bonus a pint of beer (Kozel ETC) is about 75p .... Wake up folks there is more to the world than the failed EU .

[DemonGeminiX]

France is thinking about holding a referendum regarding EU membership now.

Can't be outdone by the Brits, can they? :lol:

[DemonGeminiX]

And Italy, Holland, and Denmark.

The wreck is going down. Get out, before you drown...

[redred]

:lol:

we do base holidays on the price of beer :lol:

[FBD]

Article 50 (which covers nations opting out of the EU) outlines a two year negotiation period for any nation that tries to opt out of the EU.:-k





http://82.221.129.208/votescam.gif

its refreshing to see that there are limits to the amount of electoral fraud that can be pulled off

[redred]

don't worry about it , we'll sort it out :lol: nothing was rigged and we haven;t pressed the article 50 button yet , that should be october :tup:

[PorkChopSandwiches]

I really hope parliament respects the voice of the people

:rofl:

[Goofy]

https://i.imgur.com/A1yfM64.jpg

[Goofy]

I wonder if Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum will make a movie about this day :-k

[Godfather]

Interesting that the votes showed that the older the segment of voters, the higher they voted to leave the EU. Young generation is extremely pissed from what I can see.

[DemonGeminiX]

The UK joined the EU before I was born. The younger generation obviously grew up as members of the EU as their identity and don't know any different. The older folks still remember the UK as a solitary independent entity and that's their identity. It's right that they regained their national identity back.

[RBP]

Interesting that the votes showed that the older the segment of voters, the higher they voted to leave the EU. Young generation is extremely pissed from what I can see.

I am not sure what they feel they get from it other than feeling like a citizen of Europe.

[DemonGeminiX]

That's exactly it. The older folks are more keenly aware of the financial injustice that the UK suffered by being a member.

[FBD]

I am not sure what they feel they get from it other than feeling like a citizen of Europe.

one concept: Free Shit Army

[Godfather]

I think this summarizes their feelings:

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s526x395/13507027_10100571424957826_2254550961994826963_n.j pg?oh=eaa1abc1cbe8bda16626eacb1f34cfab&oe=57C3CB1F



It's fine to disagree, but still have empathy for them... their economy just shit the bed overnight, they literally moved down one spot in terms of largest economies in the world in a single day. It's pretty scary for them I'm sure.

[Hugh_Janus]

this is going to be rough...

[Hugh_Janus]

also, thew backtracking started a couple of hours after the result :lol:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA3XTYfzd1I

[DemonGeminiX]

I think you guys will be ok. Y'all have a long and proud history. You'll rise up again.

[RBP]

I think this summarizes their feelings:

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s526x395/13507027_10100571424957826_2254550961994826963_n.j pg?oh=eaa1abc1cbe8bda16626eacb1f34cfab&oe=57C3CB1F

It's fine to disagree, but still have empathy for them... their economy just shit the bed overnight, they literally moved down one spot in terms of largest economies in the world in a single day. It's pretty scary for them I'm sure.

You can't judge this by one day; there's no reason to think that was a permanent adjustment. The markets are narcissistic, they believe the know all and can predict all. When they are wrong, there are large swings. But Soros knew... which gets my tin hat foiling.

However, the UK companies that exist on exports to a free trade zone may get fucked. If the EU follows through on making an example of the UK, the cost of doing business may get prohibitive. That's the real question for me. Does stopping the bleeding really help if you get stabbed in a bigger artery?

The touchy feely, you may not meet your soul mate in France is not germane to the future of the country.

But perhaps the most fascinating piece is that possibility that Scotland and Ireland may band together, bolt the UK, and return to the EU.

:popcorn:

[Godfather]

My favorite is the folks who started the petition for London to leave the UK :lol: Can you even imagine..

[redred]

Some twat in Bristol has tried that :lol: