- PM announces resignation after Leave secures dramatic victory by 52 per cent to 48 per cent
- Says he cannot be the 'captain' who steers the UK to new future outside the Brussels club
- Massive 22-point win for Leave in Sunderland signalled the direction of the battle in dramatic night of results
- Brexit camp performed strongly in Wales and in England outside of London and the big cities
- Vote in favour of EU membership was big in Scotland and big cities including London
- The value of Pound has slumped to a 31-year low against US dollar as markets take fright at looming result
- Standard & Poor's has warned that the UK's AAA credit rating now looks 'untenable'
- David Cameron will give his response to the result within hours and could declare he will quit
The Prime Minister said he accepted the verdict of the 'great democratic exercise' which saw the Leave campaign triumph after stacking up votes across England and Wales - despite massive support for Remain in Scotland and major cities including London.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney moved to reassure panicking markets this morning after the Pound nose-dived to its lowest level against the US dollar for 31 years, and the stock market slumped by 8 per cent. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has already raised the prospect of a second independence referendum in Scotland.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is also coming under intense pressure over his role in the botched Remain campaign.
Flanked by wife Samantha in Downing Street, Mr Cameron said he had been 'proud' to serve as PM for the past six years.
But he said it would not be right for him to be the 'captain of the ship' while the UK negotiated its exit from the EU.
David Cameron said he could not be the 'captain of the ship' while the UK negotiated its exit from the EU
David and Samantha Cameron comforted each other after he made his emotional statement outside the famous door of 10 Downing Street
Mr Cameron (left) said he accepted the verdict of the 'great democratic exercise' which saw the Leave campaign triumph. His wife Samantha appeared to be getting emotional as her husband announced that he would stand down in October
'I held nothing back. I was absolutely clear about my belief that Britain is stringer, safer and better off inside the EU,' he said.
‘And I made the referendum was about this and this alone – not the future of any single politician including myself.
‘But the British people have made a very clear decision to take a different path and as such I think the country requires fresh leadership to take it in this direction.’
Choking back tears, Mr Cameron said he would not depart immediately and would seek to calm the markets over the coming 'weeks and months'.
But he said a new Prime Minister should be in place for the Conservative Party conference in October. Boris Johnson, who led the Brexit campaign, will be the overwhelming favourite to take over.
'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 our country to its next destination,' he said.
‘This is not a decision I have taken lightly but I do believe it is in the national interest to have a period of stability and then the new leadership required.
‘There is no need for a precise timetable today but in my view we should aim to have a new Prime Minister in place by the start of the Conservative Party conference in October.’
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn watched on a screen as Mr Cameron announced his resignation in the wake of the EU referendum vote. He is also coming under intense pressure over his role in the botched Remain campaign
He added: 'Delivering stability will be important. And I will continue in post as Prime Minister with my cabinet for the next three months.
‘The Cabinet will meet on Monday, the Governor of the Bank of England is making a statement about the steps the Bank and the Treasury are taking to reassure financial markets.
‘We will also continue taking forward the important le3gislation we set before parliament in the Queen’s Speech – and I have spoken to Her Majesty the Queen this morning to advise her of the steps that I am taking.’
The bombshell announcement came after a night of high drama that included:
- Sunderland voted by a massive 61 per cent to 39 per cent for Brexit - far higher than expected. In Swansea, where Remain had been forecast to win by 10 percentage points, Leave ended up by 52 per cent to 48 per cent.
- Among a slew of poor results, Remain also only won by 51 per cent to 49 per cent in Newcastle, less than many had anticipated.
- The final outcome of the referendum was 51.9 per cent for Leave to 48.1 per cent, with the winning margin more than a million votes.
- The news sent the Pound plunging against the US dollar, losing around 20 cents to hit its lowest level since 1985. The stock market is also expected to open down around 8 per cent.
- The Bank of England has moved to reassure investors that it will take 'all necessary steps' to stabilise the economy
- The Brexit victory came despite Mr Farage admitting seconds after polls closed that Remain looked to have 'edged' the referendum. Boris Johnson reportedly told a passenger on the Tube that his side had lost the referendum battle.
- Final polls had also predicted a Remain victory by up to 54-46.
- More than 80 Tory Brexit backers have written to David Cameron urging him to stay on in Downing Street whatever the outcome.
The direction of the battle started to become clear with a shock result in Sunderland which saw the Out camp win by 61 per cent to 39 per cent. Analysis before the referendum had suggested Leave could be on track to win if they were more than six percentage points ahead.
A surprise victory for Brexit in Swansea, where the pro-EU side had been expecting to romp home, signposted a disastrous showing for Remain across Wales. Areas like Carmarthenshire decisively turned their back on Brussels.
Newcastle was less clear cut for the pro-EU side than they had hoped, seeing them sneak home by just 51 per cent to 49 per cent.
Remain had some bright spots, with chunky wins in London, Scotland and Oxford. Wandsworth in particular piled in with a massive 77 per cent in favour of staying.
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However, the big English cities and Scotland were not enough to offset the will of the rest of the country, and Leave passed the finishing post at 6am.
Speaking at a jubilant Leave.EU rally in central London, Mr Farage said June 23 would go down in history as 'our independence day'.
In a remark that could prove controversial after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot dead last week, Mr Farage said the country was separating from the EU 'without a single bullet being fired' .
'Dare to dream that the dawn is breaking on an independent United Kingdom,' he said.
'This, if the predictions now are right, this will be a victory for real people, a victory for ordinary people, a victory for decent people.
'We have fought against the multinationals, we have fought against the big merchant banks, we have fought against big politics, we have fought against lies, corruption and deceit.
Nigel Farage claims a historic win for the Leave Campaign, saying the vote is 'a victory for real people, a victory for ordinary people, a victory for decent people'
A Leave campaigner celebrates in London amid scenes of utter elation with a commanding lead and just a few areas left to declare
'And today honesty, decency and belief in nation, I think now is going to win.
'And we will have done it without having to fight, without a single bullet being fired, we'd have done it by damned hard work on the ground.'
Mr Farage praised Ukip donor Arron Banks along with Labour and Tory MPs and those of 'no party' who have taken part in the Leave campaign.
He went on: 'And we'll have done it not just for ourselves, we'll have done it for the whole of Europe.
'I hope this victory brings down this failed project and leads us to a Europe of sovereign nation states, trading together, being friends together, cooperating together, and let's get rid of the flag, the anthem, Brussels, and all that has gone wrong.
'Let June 23 go down in our history as our independence day.'
Setting the stage for another independence referendum north of the border, Scottish First minister Nicola Sturgeon said: 'Scotland has delivered a strong, unequivocal vote to remain in the EU, and I welcome that endorsement of our European status.
'And while the overall result remains to be declared, the vote here makes clear that the people of Scotland see their future as part of the European Union.'
A discarded Vote Remain placard in Parliament Square as the country woke up to the news it has voted to leave the EU
The SNP leader added: 'Scotland has contributed significantly to the Remain vote across the UK. That reflects the positive campaign the SNP fought, which highlighted the gains and benefits of our EU membership, and people across Scotland have responded to that positive message.
'We await the final UK-wide result, but Scotland has spoken - and spoken decisively.'
Former first minister Alex Salmond told the BBC: 'Scotland looks like it is going to vote solidly Remain. If there was a Leave vote in England, dragging us out the EU, I'm quite certain Nicola Sturgeon would implement the SNP manifesto.'
Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn told the BBC he did not think the PM was 'going to remain in his job for very long at all'.
'If you are the Prime Minister, you've called this referendum, you've laid your reputation on the line and your arguments, I think it's going to be very hard.'
Former Europe minister and Labour MP Keith Vaz told the BBC the outcome would be a 'catastrophe'. 'Frankly, in a thousand years I would never have believed that the British people would have voted this way,' he said.
'And they have done so and I think that they voted emotionally rather than looking at the facts.
'It'll be catastrophic for our country, for the rest of Europe and indeed the world.'
He added: 'The issues of immigration are extremely important, if you look at the campaign I think that there needed to be a much stronger campaign to stay in.'
Labour's Jonathan Ashworth said the Conservative Party was 'utterly preoccupied with leadership infighting rather than the future of the country', adding: 'This letter cannot unsay what senior Tory politicians have been telling us for weeks - that the British people simply cannot trust David Cameron.'
The atmosphere at the Leave.EU campaign party in London is jubilant as voters in the early stages give them a larger lead than expected and they win key battlegrounds
More people enjoy the party at the Leave.EU base in Westminster where people look as though they are beginning to think they may even win the referendum vote
Lib Dem former Cabinet minister Sir Vince Cable said Mr Cameron's authority would be 'completely gone' in the event of a Leave win and he would have to stand down.
He described holding the referendum as a 'very bad call' by the Prime Minister, who failed to understand what happens 'when you just throw the cards in the air'.
But senior Tories rallied round in an effort to protect the PM. Cabinet minister Chris Grayling - a Brexit backer - said: 'It would be an absolute nonsense if David Cameron felt, having given the country that choice, if they take the decision he couldn't carry on the job. We are completely behind him staying, we want him to stay and that letter is a statement of commitment to his leadership.'
Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's hard-right Front National, hailed the referendum result as a 'victory for liberty' on Twitter
Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb said he did not think the Prime Minister 'could have done any more' and it was 'absolutely essential' that he remains in No 10.
He said: 'There isn't anybody else around the Cabinet table or outside the Cabinet, for that matter, or in any of the other political parties who can give this country the kind of leadership skills and abilities that David Cameron can at this, what is going to be very challenging weeks and months for the country.'
He added: 'I just think there is a disconnect with the white working class. We didn't get our core messages across to them.
'When we tried to explain to them just how important the European Single Market was to their jobs, their livelihoods, we didn't quite land those messages successfully.
'And I think that is one of the themes that is emerging this evening is that old industrial white working class areas clearly haven't bought the message that we have tried hard to communicate.
'In those areas which are strongly perhaps white working class there will be a strong vote for Out and that's something as a Government we need to respond to.
'Clearly, I think one of the features of this referendum are some of those social divisions and clearly as a Government, as a political class, all parties, we need to show that we're responding to that.'
Nigel Farage looked somber as he conceded defeat at around 11pm, admitting that Remain may edge the victory, but he looked overjoyed after a series of results that were better than expected for the campaign at 12.30am
Remain campaigners celebrated as the result came in for Gibraltar which voted In overwhelmingly. But it was downhill after that as Out won key battlegrounds
On the counting floor in Sunderland, there are scenes of joy as the huge win is announced, which will send ripples of hope to their fellow Brexit voters across the country
Pro-Brexit former defence secretary Liam Fox called for a 'period of calm' and urged the Government not to invoke article 50 straight away while insisting Mr Cameron must stay on as PM.
Dr Fox told BBC News: 'A lot of things were said in advance of this referendum that we might want to think about again and that (invoking article 50) is one of them.
'I think that it doesn't make any sense to trigger article 50 without having a period of reflection first, for the Cabinet to determine exactly what it is that we're going to be seeking and in what timescale.
'And then you have to also consider what is happening with the French elections and the German elections next year and the implications that that might have for them.
'So a period of calm, a period of reflection, to let it all sink in and to work through what the actual technicalities are.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3657160/Britain-brink-EU-referendum-result-knife-edge-Leave-scores-HUGE-victory-Sunderland-outperforms-predictions-Swansea-Remain-pins-hopes-London.html#ixzz4CTtSvQJm
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