Well, this is a bit surprising. The UK held a referendum with it's citizens to decide on whether they wanted to remain in the European Union (EU) or to exit. By a few overall percentage points (51.89% to leave vs. 48.11% to stay) the citizens gave their voice, they want to leave.
Stock markets have been tumbling since the announcement, with some even putting stops to trades to prevent automated trading catastrophes, the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, has announced that he'll step down from office, and now there looms an even bigger issue.... division within the UK itself.
Both Scotland and Northern Ireland, under UK control, voted clearly to stay in the EU, as well as citizens of London, but the votes from the rest of England and Wales pushed the majority vote to leave. Not Scotland is talking about holding another referendum of their own to break off from the UK for their own independence with the implication being that if they break away then they'll rejoin the EU. Northern Ireland is now also giving indications that, like Ireland (Ireland is split into two, the North under UK control and the South which is independent "Ireland"), they want to remain in the EU as well and that perhaps they too need to look at independence with an eye on unification with the South.
The EU, meanwhile, is taking a hard-line approach of, essentially, telling the UK that now that they've voted, they've got two years to figure out an exit plan & do it or be kicked out of the EU.
This is something that will have major implications globally.
Stock markets have been tumbling since the announcement, with some even putting stops to trades to prevent automated trading catastrophes, the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, has announced that he'll step down from office, and now there looms an even bigger issue.... division within the UK itself.
Both Scotland and Northern Ireland, under UK control, voted clearly to stay in the EU, as well as citizens of London, but the votes from the rest of England and Wales pushed the majority vote to leave. Not Scotland is talking about holding another referendum of their own to break off from the UK for their own independence with the implication being that if they break away then they'll rejoin the EU. Northern Ireland is now also giving indications that, like Ireland (Ireland is split into two, the North under UK control and the South which is independent "Ireland"), they want to remain in the EU as well and that perhaps they too need to look at independence with an eye on unification with the South.
The EU, meanwhile, is taking a hard-line approach of, essentially, telling the UK that now that they've voted, they've got two years to figure out an exit plan & do it or be kicked out of the EU.
This is something that will have major implications globally.