BREXIT: British PM resigns after UK vote to leave EU

BREXIT: British PM resigns after UK vote to leave EU

Sat, Jun 25, 2016Reuters and AP, LONDON

Britain has voted to leave the EU, forcing the resignation of British Prime Minister David Cameron and dealing the biggest blow to the European project of greater unity since World War II.

There was euphoria among Britain’s eurosceptic forces, claiming a victory over the political establishment, big business and foreign leaders, including US President Barack Obama, who had urged Britain to remain.

“Dare to dream that the dawn is breaking on an independent United Kingdom,” said Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party. “This will be a victory for real people, a victory for ordinary people, a victory for decent people ... Let June 23 go down in our history as our independence day.”

Global financial markets plunged as results from Thursday’s referendum showed a near 52-48 percent split for leaving.

The pound fell more than 10 percent against the US dollar to levels last seen in 1985, its biggest one-day fall in history, and European shares plummeted more than 8 percent, headed for their biggest ever one-day percentage fall.

Cameron, who lost his gamble betting the nation’s future on an outcome he predicted would be catastrophic, said he would step down as prime minister by October.

Speaking to assembled reporters outside 10 Downing Street in London yesterday, he said he would stay on for as long as was necessary for stability’s sake, but that he could not be the one to lead Britain out of Europe.

“I will do everything I can as prime minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months, but I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers the country to its next destination,” he said.

Brexit was a rare, but fateful miscalculation for a politician who has a reputation for thriving under pressure and astutely judging political risks.

“I think he’s actually been pretty stunned by the strength of the ‘leave’ cause,” Cameron biographer James Hanning told reporters several days ahead of the referendum. “The golden rule is: Never hold a referendum unless you’re confident of winning it, and I think he thought that the moderate voices would prevail by some distance.”

“The British people have made a decision to take a separate path,” Cameron said yesterday morning.

Quitting the EU could cost Britain access to the EU’s trade barrier-free single market.

The UK itself could break apart, with leaders in Scotland — where nearly two-thirds of voters wanted to stay in the EU — calling for a new vote on independence.

The EU for its part is expected to be economically and politically damaged, facing the departure not only of its most free-market proponent, but also a member with a UN Security Council veto and powerful army. In one go, the bloc will lose about one-sixth of its economic output.

Leaders in France and the Netherlands demanded their own referendums to leave.

The vote will initiate at least two years of divorce proceedings with the EU, the first exit by any member state.

Cameron said it would be up to his successor to formally start the exit process.

Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson, a former London mayor who became the most recognizable face of the “leave” camp, is now widely tipped to seek the top job.

European politicians reacted with shock.

Structure of the Lead：

WHO: David Cameron

WHERE: LONDON

Keywords:

1. euphoria  狂喜,亢奮

2. plummeted  暴跌

3. catastrophic 災難性的

4. Brexit 退出歐盟的縮寫

5. proponent 宣導者

來源:http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2016/06/25/2003649410來源: