EU Referendum: Britain votes to leave European Union

Results from the EU referendum on Friday morning showed 51.9 per cent of votes backed Britain's exit from the European Union.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab

24 June, 2016

Results early on Friday indicate a victory for the Brexit campaign [Getty]

Britain is set to leave the European Union after referendum voters backed an exit from the politico-economic bloc by 51.9 percent to 48, the country's state-owned broadcaster has said.

This result highlights the country's regions voting in stark contrast to reveal a nation divided in its attitude towards the EU.

Although London and Scotland voted overwhelmingly to stay in the union, northern regions of England as well as Wales backed Brexit in huge numbers.

United Kingdom Independence Party leader Nigel Farage announced victory for the Eurosceptics in the early hours of Friday morning, claiming that it was a victory for "decent people".

The leaders of the leave campaign in the Conservative Party, most notably Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, have yet to make a statement.

The unfolding outcome of Britain's referendum has seen the nation's currency fall to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985 as the markets reacted to the polls.

Britain is the first major European nation to exit the economic and political bloc since joining in the seventies.

The results forced British Prime Minister David Cameron to announce his resignation despite recieving dozens of support from his own MPs who had pledged their approval of his continued premiership after the vote had closed.