Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
THE UNITED KINGDOM voted to leave the European Union by a margin of 52% to 48%.
Prime Minister David Cameron announced that he is resigning in the wake of the result, after he led the failed campaign to ‘remain’. Meanwhile UKIP leader Nigel Farage celebrated his biggest victory and called for other European countries to follow the UK’s lead.
We followed the reaction to this seismic event all throughout the day. Here’s how it unfurled.
For full coverage on the fallout both in the UK, Ireland and further afield, see here>
Hi folks, it’s Christine Bohan here, taking over the baton from Sinead O’Carroll who was following events overnight.
It has been an extremely turbulent few hours. David Cameron has announced his resignation, markets are bucking wildly around the world, and Nigel Farage has called it ‘a new dawn’ for Britain.
Got any thoughts? Having a minor freak-out? Just want to vent? You know where the comments section is. Otherwise throw us an email to tips@thejournal.ie or tweet me @christinebohan.
24 Jun 2016
10:55AM
Here’s a quick recap of where things stand right now:
The UK voted to leave the EU by 51.9% to 48.1%.
David Cameron has announced that he is resigning as UK Prime Minister
Northern Ireland and Scotland both voted to remain, leading to speculation about what will happen next to both regions
Nigel Farage says it is a victory for ordinary people.
More than £100 billion has been wiped off the FTSE 100 so far – the biggest slump since 2008.
There’s a HUGE discussion about the referendum on Twitter right now, but two of the most retweeted reactions come from an unexpected source: Niall Horan from One Direction.
It's a sad day . The economic impact that this is going to have is definitely going to make those voters regret their decision
Boris Johnson, one of the clear winners of today’s referendum result, has just given his reaction, saying that it will help the UK to “find [its] voice in the world again”.
“I want to reassure everyone that Britain will continue to be a great European power,” he said.
But there is simply no need in the 21st century to be part of a federal system of government based in Brussels that is imitated nowhere else on Earth.
It was a noble idea for its time. It is no longer right for this country.
Interesting reaction from a high-level source within the Irish government, who was speaking to our reporter Orla Ryan:
“What were they thinking?”
An emergency meeting of the Cabinet is being held right now and Taoiseach Enda Kenny is expected to make a statement as soon as it is over (it’s already running 30 minutes over time).
Dominic Lipinski / PA
Dominic Lipinski / PA / PA
The government released a brief statement at 6.32am today, saying:
The Government notes the outcome of the UK EU referendum this morning. This result clearly has very significant implications for Ireland, as well as for Britain and for the European Union.
BREAKING: Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says the Scottish parliament is going to prepare legislation for a second referendum on independence.
Sky News
Sky News
She told a press conference just now that many people who voted against Scottish independence in September 2014 “are now reassessing their position”.
Scotland voted to remain in the EU, as did Northern Ireland, while England and Wales both voted to leave.
“I want to leave no-one in any doubt about this. I am proud of Scotland and how we voted yesterday,” she said. “We proved that we are a modern, outward-looking country”.
“I am determined that we will do what it takes to make sure that these aspirations [to remain in the EU] are realised.”
We talk about an urban-rural divide in Ireland, but this chart shows the geographic divide across the UK in yesterday’s vote.
Nine out of the twelve electoral regions voted to leave, with the strongest showing in the West Midlands, while Northern Ireland, Scotland and London all voted to remain.
Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie
Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie
Micheál Martin thinks David Cameron was reckless to hold the vote, and says the Conservative party stumbled into the referendum with little preparation, says our reporter Orla Ryan.
The Fianna Fail leader told reporters:
We respect the decision of the British people in deciding to leave the European Union. We regret it. We think it’s a bad decision for Britain, for Europe, for Ireland and for the world.
Just when you think this day can’t get any more dramatic…
British Labour MPs have submitted a motion of no confidence in party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Dominic Lipinski / PA Wire
Dominic Lipinski / PA Wire / PA Wire
The BBC reports that two MPs, Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey, have sent a letter to the chairman of the Labour party calling for a discussion at the parliamentary party meeting this Monday.
Corbyn has been strongly criticised from within his party for campaigning halfheartedly for the UK to remain in the EU.
If the discussion on Corbyn’s leadership is allowed to go ahead on Monday by the party chairman, there will be a secret ballot of Labour MPs on Tuesday.
If Corbyn is forced to step down as leader, he will have served as Labour leader for just over nine months – one of the shortest tenures of any party leader in recent history.
Let’s just take a moment to note that if it were any other day, Donald Trump visiting Scotland would be getting a lot more headlines than it actually is.
Sinn Féin’s Peadar Tóibín on the Brexit result: “Normal functions north and south [of the border] will be massively impaled by this decision”.
Speaking to our reporter Orla Ryan, he said that day-to-day life could be hugely impacted for people who live along the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, especially if they live on one side but work or go to school on the other side.
Northern Ireland was one of just three electoral areas out of twelve which voted to remain in the EU.
Tóibín said that many people in Northern Ireland have been in touch with Sinn Féin to ask about getting Irish passports.
Footballer James McClean appears to have deleted his Twitter account, 35 minutes after he tweeted this:
Screengrab
Screengrab
McClean, who tweeted at JamesMcC14, was born in Derry and played for the Northern Ireland under-21 football team, but chose to play for the Republic of Ireland senior team.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage has given a sort-of apology for saying that “not a single shot was fired” to achieve the EU referendum result, eight days after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot dead.
Asked by Channel 4 reporter Fatima Manji whether he thought it was an appropriate thing to say, Farage responded:
“Normally, to get independence you have to fight for it. We didn’t have to fight for it… But I understand what you’re saying and if that caused any offence, I apologise. ”
Orla Ryan / TheJournal.ie
Orla Ryan / TheJournal.ie / TheJournal.ie
Speaking after the hastily-called Cabinet meeting a few minutes ago, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he will recall the Dáil to sit on Monday to talk about Brexit.
The Taoiseach told reporters:
- He is “very sorry” to hear the Brexit outcome but he fully respects the decision
- The Irish government has been working on contingency plans for this situation
- The implications of the result for Northern Ireland will be a priority for the Irish government and will require careful consideration
- Ireland’s close relationship with Britain will remain
- The government wants to minimise any possible disruption of people and goods.
Boris Johnson and others on the Leave side may have suggested that there is no rush for Brexit to take place, but the EU thinks otherwise.
The presidents of the European Parliament, the European Council, and the European Commission - Martin Schulz, Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker - met this morning, and have said that there should be no delay in Britain getting out of the EU.
“We now expect the United Kingdom government to give effect to this decision of the British people as soon as possible, however painful that process may be.
“Any delay would unnecessarily prolong uncertainty. We have rules to deal with this in an orderly way.”
The Irish Central Bank has issued a softly-softly statement, saying that it is “closely monitoring the financial market impact and the banking sector” after the Brexit vote.
In line with our role to safeguard the stability of the financial system, the Central Bank has worked closely with banks and financial firms and measures are in place to address any immediate issues that may arise. The Central Bank is confident that the contingency measures that are in place are appropriate to address any such issues.
We will continue to closely monitor the situation over the coming days and are liaising with financial institutions, the Department of Finance and other domestic authorities, as appropriate.
Dublin Central TD Maureen O’Sullivan says that while she has always been against being in the EU, she has “mixed emotions” today.
Speaking to our reporter Orla Ryan, she said:
“This is a wake-up call. There is a lot of anger out there about unelected officials making decisions that affect ordinary people in unfair ways.”
The Independent TD noted that although it is “far too soon” to say anything definitive, the result may be “the first step on the road to unity” in Ireland.
24 Jun 2016
2:55PM
Ok, deep breath. Here’s a round-up of our coverage so far today. Everything you need to know about Brexit, basically.
Dominic Lipinski / PA Wire
Dominic Lipinski / PA Wire / PA Wire
Former Labour party spin doctor Alastair Campbell was just on Sky News and he spoke about the disconnect between voters and politicians.
“All these leaders [have been] saying to followers, “This is what you have to do,” and they’ve just replied, “No, no, no, we’re not having that,” he said.
There’s this disconnect… These people have just heard ‘austerity, austerity, austerity’ for too long, and it’s added to the sense of disillusionment.
He was critical of how Boris Johnson appealed to people in the UK:
It’s incredible. Trump, this elitist, narcissist, multi-millionaire, privileged inheritance, and he’s the voice of the common man in the US. Johnson is an old Etonian, a Tory MP, and he’s the spokesman of the common man in Britain. It’s crazy stuff.
He also said that some on the Leave side have not considered the long-term impact of their vote:
All these people careering around with their Union Jacks, jabbing their fingers in your face. Fine, you can have that, but there’s consequences down the track you haven’t thought about.
Andrew Harnik / AP Photo
Andrew Harnik / AP Photo / AP Photo
US President Barack Obama has weighed in on the referendum, saying that the ‘special relationship’ between the United States and the United Kingdom will remain unchanged.
The people of the United Kingdom have spoken, and we respect their decision. The special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is enduring, and the United Kingdom’s membership in NATO remains a vital cornerstone of U.S. foreign, security, and economic policy.
So too is our relationship with the European Union, which has done so much to promote stability, stimulate economic growth, and foster the spread of democratic values and ideals across the continent and beyond.
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.
Google has released this list which shows the most-asked questions about the EU by people in the UK, ever since the Brexit result was officially announced this morning.
Slightly worryingly, the second question is “What is the EU?”.
Enda Kenny just got a big cheer at the event for US vice president Joe Biden in Dublin Castle, when he told the assembled crowd that Ireland’s close relationship with the UK will remain despite Brexit.
However, our reporter Orla Ryan notes that the Taoiseach got an even bigger cheer for mentioning the Ireland win over Italy on Wednesday night.
Here’s the (very wet) crowd in Dublin Castle a few minutes ago:
Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie
Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie
Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie
Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has just spoken to David Cameron on the phone.
The two pictured in January this year Matt Dunham / PA Wire
Matt Dunham / PA Wire / PA Wire
During the call, which lasted 12 minutes, the two agreed that there will be “immediate bilateral contact” among British and Irish officials about significant issues stemming from the Brexit vote, including the Northern Ireland border and the common travel area.
A government spokesperson said:
The Prime Minister called the Taoiseach to thank him for his support all through the UK-EU process, including at European Council level prior to the political agreement. They briefly discussed the referendum campaign and the closeness of the result. The Taoiseach said he understood the rationale for the PM’s stated preference for initiating negotiations with the EU after a new leader of the Conservative party has been selected.
It was agreed that it would be priority that there would be no interruption to the close bilateral work at political and official level on Northern Ireland. Moreover, it was agreed that there would be immediate bilateral contact between senior officials on the issues of mutual interest arising from the referendum, including the common travel area and the border.
There was a warm exchange, recalling the strong personal relationships that they had built over the last number of years. The Taoiseach wished PM Cameron and his family the very best for the future and they both looked forward to meeting in person next week
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern spoke to Mary Wilson on RTE Radio One’s Drivetime programme this evening, and said that the UK is in a more difficult negotiating position than it may realise.
“People like Boris Johnson think that you can go to Europe, keep all the good things that you want and get rid of all the negative things you don’t like.
“Now, Christmas does come once a year, but I’m afraid it won’t come for him at all, it’s just not going to happen.”
Ahern said that Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, is “not going to be impressed with all of this”.
“Their [the UK's] negotiating stand is going to be tough. They’re not going to get rewarded for this.”
There has been a jump in the number of queries about applying for Irish passports today.
Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie
Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie
The Department of Foreign Affairs has told my colleague Aoife Barry that there has been a spoke in queries about entitlements for Irish passports since the UK referendum result this morning.
There are also reports of an increase in passport queries in Northern Ireland too.
Google Trends noted that there was a spoke of more than 100% in people in the UK searching for “getting an Irish passport” after the vote on Thursday.
There was no official exit poll last night, but a private poll – we don’t get a lot of them on this side of the Irish Sea – looked at the demographics of the people who voted.
The poll of 12,369 people found that that the older the voter, the more likely they were to have voted to leave the EU.
There was no difference at all in how different genders voted. However, almost three-quarters (73%) of people aged 18 to 24 voted to remain, while 60% of people aged 65 or over voted to leave. Meanwhile the majority of people who were working either full-time or part-time voted to remain, while most people who were not working voted to leave.
We mentioned earlier that two Labour MPs in Britain have put forward a motion of no confidence in party leader Jeremy Corbyn over his half-hearted campaign for the Remain side (among other things).
It looks like he’s undeterred (publicly, at least):
It’s Aoife Barry here, taking over the liveblog after a marathon effort by our deputy editor Christine Bohan.
AP reports that Barack Obama and David Cameron have spoken by phone – and the US President said he is confident that the UK is committed to an “orderly transition out of the European Union”.
Obama was on a trip to Stanford University when he mentioned the call during a speech. He also said that the “special relationship” between the US and the UK won’t be changing.
“It’s all about immigration,” one Leave voter from Barnsley in England tells Channel 4 in this vox pop about why people voted to exit the European Union.
Former Irish president Mary McAleese has spoken of her disappointment over today’s result.
“It is rather disappointing that those who have championed Brexit have made so little effort at acknowledging this is really a situation, not that UK has voted to leave the European Union, but England and Wales have voted to leave the European Union,” she told Sky News.
She also said a problematic issue for the Republic of Ireland is the Peace Process and border with northern Ireland, given that the referendum was largely won on issues of immigration.
She said that if a referendum on a united Ireland was to be held tomorrow “undoubtedly I don’t think the decision would be for a united Ireland,” indicating that three or four years down the line the result could be different.
European Parliament President Martin Schulz AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
The EU Parliament leader Martin Schulz said that they want Britain out of Europe as soon as possible.
As the Guardian reports, Schulz said that EU lawyers are already studying whether it is possible to “speed up the triggering of article 50 of the Lisbon treaty” – that’s the very article that would allow the UK to leave the EU.
Of course, this would be the first time that article 50 has ever been used, so it’s very much an untested thing.
President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, is on the same page as Schulz. He said that it “doesn’t make any sense to wait until October” to try and negotiate the terms under which the UK leave.
So now that Brexit has been voted on, the EU appears to be firmly drawing a line – and telling Cameron and co that it won’t be a drawn-out affair.
And on that note, it’s time for us to wrap up today’s liveblog.
Thanks for reading along – and don’t forget we’ve been covering the many aspects to today’s referendum result.
That includes our latest FactCheck, which asks: Is Enda Kenny really obliged to work toward a United Ireland? Find the comprehensive answer here.
Advertisement
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
'If our industry fails, this country fails': Hauliers call for subsidy amid ongoing Holyhead Port closure
Updated
1 hr ago
13.4k
84
Rathmines
Person of interest comes forward after man hospitalised following Dublin hit-and-run
Updated
3 hrs ago
21.5k
Grangeclare West
Man (40s) dies after car enters water at Grand Canal in Kildare
8 hrs ago
35.1k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 136 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 94 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 122 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 92 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 67 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 66 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 31 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 27 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 113 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 54 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 66 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 73 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 31 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 39 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 23 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 76 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 85 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 62 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 45 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 74 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 53 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say