On Thursday, the people of the United Kingdom voted 52 percent to 48 percent to end their status as a member of the European Union. The nation will trigger Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, starting a two year, irreversible process at the end of which they’ll be removed from the political-economic union of 28—soon to be 27—European states.
Prime Minster David Cameron, who had championed the idea of the UK remaining within the union, has announced that he will resign. The Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is also likely to be deposed and a motion of no confidence in him has been made. In three months, there will be a new Prime Minister, a new government, new leadership in both major parties and a new direction as the United Kingdom follows breaks trail along a path that no other nation has taken.
The immediate effects of the exit vote are clear to see as the value of the pound struck a 30 year low and stocks followed.
France's economy overtook the UK's as the pound slumped to its weakest level in more than three decades, sending investors fleeing to the "safe haven" of gold.
The less than 2 percent margin of victory for the exit vote was by no means evenly distributed. While England (apart from London) and Wales both voted to leave, Scotland and Northern Ireland, where local governments have opposed conservative policies coming from London, voted strongly to stay. In the wake of the exit vote, both the Scottish National Party and Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland have called for new referendums allowing them to break free of the UK, suggesting that one or both might seek to re-enter the EU as independent states.
Nicola Sturgeon has just spoken about Scotland's overwhelming support for remaining in the EU.
She said: "While the overall result remains to be declared, the vote here makes clear that the people of Scotland see their future as part of the European Union.
"We await the final UK-wide result, but Scotland has spoken - and spoken decisively."
In short: It’s a mess. A huge mess. And not one that’s going to be cleaned up quickly. But there is one man who is really excited about the turmoil.
Donald Trump spent the first 15 minutes of his press conference talking about his golf course and was prepared to Tr-exit the stage at that point, but in response to reporters’ questions, he took a victory lap for having been an early supporter for Brexit. Which, in nativist, xenophobic, anti-immigrant terms, he took as a win for him and a prediction for the elections in America.
"I think I see a big parallel," Trump said in response to a question about his own political movement. "People want to take their country back, and they want to have independence in a sense."
There’s no doubt that immigration, anti-immigrant, and anti-Muslim feelings played a role in the vote to leave the EU. But they were probably secondary to the UK’s long-held disdain for continental Europe. In any case, Trump’s crowing about how the crashing pound made a golf holiday at his Scottish course such a bargain showed once again what is really important to Trump.
Trump also spent some time cheerleading for a break up of the EU. Why? Hey, just think of the business opportunities!