Britain must now calm anxious financial markets

The Britons have spoken. They voted to leave the European Union (EU) after being a member of the huge economic and political bloc since 1973. After a bitter campaign between those who wanted to remain in the EU and those that favoured an exit, Friday’s historic referendum gave a verdict. As expected, the results were close, but a verdict was delivered nonetheless.

Some 17,410,742 voters in the United Kingdom, representing 48.1 per cent of the votes cast, said they want out of the EU, while 16,141,241 voters, representing 51.9 per cent, wanted UK to remain.