British Prime Minister David Cameron and President Obama
Thursday's vote in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, by a 52 percent to 48 percent margin, has led to Prime Minister David Cameron's resignation.
Britain's decision to leave the EU was backed by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump while President Obama and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton opposed it.
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The London Daily Mail said Cameron was trying to "reassure businesses around the world that Britain's economy was fundamentally sound" as the vote outcome was released.
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Cameron was emotional as he read a resignation speech outside 10 Downing Street.
"I held nothing back," he stated. "I was absolutely clear about my belief that Britain is stronger, safer and better off inside the EU. I made clear the referendum was about this and this alone – not the future of any single politician including myself.
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"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."
The transition timing remained unclear, although Cameron said he hopes a new prime minister is in place for the Conservative Party conference in October, the Mail reported. Boris Johnson, who was mayor of London until only last month, is regarded as a possible successor.
Nigel Farage, the leader of the U.K. Independence Party, which pushed for the departure, declared it "Independence Day" for Great Britain. The final total was 17,410,742 voting to leave and 16,141,241 voting to stay, which means there is a significant minority that will have to be recognized as the separation plans are developed.
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The EU's immigration policies likely contributed to the revolt.
U.S. investors on Thursday had acted as if British voters were choosing to stay in the European Union, sending stocks hurtling upward by 230 points to more than 18,000 on Dow Jones, but the unexpected turnaround is expected to be reflected in markets Friday. Overnight estimates were that the Dow Jones could open down 500 points.
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In an April visit to the U.K., President Obama told Britons they should vote to stay.
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"The United States wants a strong United Kingdom as a partner. And the United Kingdom is at its best when it's helping to lead a strong Europe," he said.
Obama said if the vote was to leave, Americans would work on a trade deal with the EU, and Britain then would drop to the back of the line. He said a deal is "not going to happen anytime soon," assuming a vote to leave.
However, State Department spokesman John Kirby tempered those comments, with, "We don't anticipate anything changing the special relationship that we have with the U.K."
Andrew Roberts, writing in the Wall Street Journal, had warned that Obama's comments were a risk.
"Surely – surely – this is an issue on which the British people, and they alone, have the right to decide, without the intervention of President Obama, who adopted his haughtiest professorial manner when lecturing us to stay in the EU, before making the naked threat that we would be sent 'to the back of the queue' (i.e., the back of the line) in any future trade deals if we had the temerity to vote to leave."
He continued: "Was my country at the back of the line when Winston Churchill promised in 1941 that in the event of a Japanese attack on the U.S., a British declaration of war on Japan would be made within the hour? … Were we at the back of the line on 9/11, or did we step forward immediately and instinctively as the very first of your allies to contribute troops to join you in the expulsion of the Taliban, al-Qaida's hosts, from power in Afghanistan? … Or in Iraq two years later, was it the French or the Germans or the Belgians who stood and fought and bled beside you? Whatever views you might have over the rights or wrongs of that war, no one can deny that Britain was in its accustomed place: at the front of the line, in the firing line. So it is not right for President Obama now to threaten to send us to the back of the line."
Following the vote, Obama quickly changed directions, saying, "The United Kingdom and the European Union will remain indispensable partners of the United States even as they begin negotiating their ongoing relationship to ensure continued stability, security, and prosperity for Europe, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the world."
Clinton also had urged the U.K. to remain in the union.
Trump, who currently is shaking up the American political system with his unorthodox campaign, had said, "I think if I were from Britain I would probably want to go back to a different system."
He also said, "I would personally be more inclined to leave, for a lot of reasons like having a lot less bureaucracy. … But I am not a British citizen. This is just my opinion."
After the vote, he weighed in again.
"The people of the United Kingdom have exercised the sacred right of all free peoples. They have declared their independence from the European Union and have voted to reassert control over their own politics, borders and economy. A Trump administration pledges to strengthen our ties with a free and independent Britain, deepening our bonds in commerce, culture and mutual defense. The whole world is more peaceful and stable when our two countries – and our two peoples – are united together, as they will be under a Trump administration," he said in a statement.
"Come November, the American people will have the chance to re-declare their independence. Americans will have a chance to vote for trade, immigration and foreign policies that put our citizens first. They will have the chance to reject today’s rule by the global elite, and to embrace real change that delivers a government of, by and for the people. I hope America is watching, it will soon be time to believe in America again."
