Britain After Brexit

Last night, many of us in the U.K. went to bed expecting a victory for Remain in the country’s Brexit referendum. This morning, we woke up to see the country surrendering its E.U. membership, our Prime Minister resign and our currency lose so much value that the U.K. went from being the world’s fifth largest economy to being its sixth largest within hours. All this before it was time for mid-morning coffee. Calling this a shock doesn’t go far enough. It’s an earthquake.

The country is now split almost down the middle, with 51.9 percent having voted Leave and 48.1 percent Remain. Both sides are shaken, even the winners, who have managed to get this far without thrashing out a clear plan for what happens next. Already they are backtracking. This morning the UKIP leader Nigel Farage has said it was a mistake to promise £350 million a week more for the National Health Service, an admission that might have seemed more bold if it had come 24 hours ago. Some are in denial. Cornwall, a region that received substantial funding from the E.U. but which voted to leave, has asked already for confirmation that its future funding won’t be cut (clairvoyant spoiler: it probably will).