The vote is finally in ,and the United Kingdom has decided to leave the European Union with the count coming in at 51.9 percent voting leave. However, not only will the British leave the EU, but there are more repercussions than they had anticipated, repercussions that will affect people around the world.
After the results came in, British Prime Minister Cameron announced his resignation, which will take affect in October. His resignation comes after his urging the nation to remain in the EU fell flat. However, even though Cameron did not agree with the decision, he supported the British people as he said, "The British people have voted to leave the European Union and their will must be respected," said Mr Cameron. "The will of the British people is an instruction that must be delivered." His claim that the UK will be in need of "fresh leadership" leads to the question who will take the helm of this newly independent ship?
Another, somewhat less shocking, repercussion of the Brexit vote is the potential for another Scottish referendum. The last Scottish referendum which ended with the nation remaining in the United Kingdom was in 2014. Scotland voted to stay in the EU, and so their potential attempt to leave the UK would be so that they could stay in the EU. The first minister of Scotland, Ms. Sturgeon reportedly said, "A second independence referendum is 'highly likely' after the UK voted to leave the EU."
The world economy has also been impacted by the United Kingdom's decision. The value of the pound as compared to the U.S. dollar has decreased by over 10 percent, causing investors to change their investments. Stock in London has declined by eight percent, in France by eight percent, Germany by seven percent and Ireland by 10 percent. An impending world recession is also a possibility, even though it is highly unlikely as Britain only makes up 3.9 percent of the worlds output. While the decision has already caused stock market prices in the U.S. to fall, it will not affect the large economies of the United States and China drastically.
All eyes will continue to be on the United Kingdom in the following months to see how greatly these repercussions will affect the economy, the people and the government of Britain.