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Britain votes to leave the EU

The results of the EU referendum by region

By THE DATA TEAM

BRITAIN is on its way out of the European Union. In a referendum on June 23rd 51.9% of voters opted for Brexit, on a high turnout of 72.2%. London, Scotland and Northern Ireland plumped for "Remain", while the rest of Britain voted "Leave". The initial shockwaves are already being felt: David Cameron has announced that he will step down as prime minister by October and stockmarkets have plummeted. What happens now is uncertain. Years of negotiations are likely to follow today's result, as Britain tries to navigate an exit from the Union. For now, the initial reaction of the markets is one of panic and chaos.

A striking amount of the variation in the vote can be explained by demographics. According to an exit poll by Lord Ashcroft, 73% of voters aged 18-24 voted for Remain, while 60% of voters aged 65 and over voted for Leave. Similar divisions were apparent across education levels: 57% of degree-holders voted to stay in the European Union, while most of those with only secondary-school educations wanted to leave.

As results trickled in throughout the night, markets were swift and punishing. A little before 2:00am, as London started reporting results and betting markets started predicting Leave, sterling declined by over 3% in less than 15 minutes. After votes from Glasgow gave Remain a slight lead, the pound quickly bounced back. The optimism was short-lived. By the time the BBC called a victory for Leave around 3:40am, sterling had fallen more than 10% to a price of just $1.33, its weakest level since 1985. Stockmarkets were no less volatile. By the early morning, futures traders were pricing in a 9% decline in the FTSE 100 and a 4% drop in the S&P 500. London markets opened with the benchmark index down a whopping 8%. British banks took a particularly hard beating. Lloyds, Barclays and RBS all fell 30% before recovering to losses of 15-20%.

Once the dust has settled migration and visa-free travel will, for many, be the greatest worry of a looming Brexit. Some 3.3m EU citizens in Britain are bracing for the uncertain months—or years—ahead. The biggest community affected will be the Polish with 900,000 immigrants, followed by the Irish and Germans with 400,000 and just under 300,000, respectively. While the Leave campaign has focused on the burden of EU immigrants on the British system, it has somewhat overlooked the fate of British expats on the continent. More than 1.2m Brits currently live in other EU member states, primarily in Spain, Ireland, France and Germany. The expat community will be unsure of what its future holds—just like Britain herself.

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