The United Kingdom will leave the European Union, the BBC predicted just before 3 a.m., London time.
“I now dare to dream that the dawn is coming up on an independent United Kingdom,” tweeted UK Independence Party Leader Nigel Farage just before the announcement.
That was a turnaround for Farage who had conceded earlier in the day that the “Remain” side of the national referendum would probably prevail in the vote for Britain to exit, or “Brexit,” from the European Union.
I now dare to dream that the dawn is coming up on an independent United Kingdom.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) June 24, 2016
American politicians have started to weigh in as well.
Howard Dean, former chair of the Democratic National Committee, predicted that “the sun has finally set on the British Empire” and that the same sun is “also setting on David Cameron’s time as Prime minister” and would mean “the end of the UK as well.”
#Brexit It looks like the sun has finally set on the British Empire. RIP
— Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) June 24, 2016
Dean added, bizarrely, “Big winner tonight is Vladimir Putin.”
Donald Trump, who was visiting one of his golf courses in Scotland, was expected to weigh in shortly with words of congratulation as soon as the vote looks like a lock.
At 4 a.m. London time, with 60 percent of the vote counted, “Leave” was beating “Remain” 51.7 to 48.3 percent — 8,963,261 to 8,388,249 votes.
At press time, the only real hope that the “Remain” campaign was victory in London so large that it could beat the overperformance of the “Leave” vote elsewhere and make up for the lackluster turnout in “Remain” friendly Scotland.
The markets, which do not like unexpected political change, are spooked. The British pound has plummeted to its lowest level since 1985. Futures markets predict a Dow Jones drop of at least 400 points in trading tomorrow and the London Stock Exchange is in for a rocky day.
