Britain wakes up a Disunited Kingdom today after Tory Brexiters and Labour heartlands in the north and Wales tipped the nation to Brexit.
A Labour source called for David Cameron to consider his position after Leavers triumphed on 72% turnout in a night of drama.Supposed Remain areas - from Birmingham to Sheffield to Swansea - tipped in favour of Brexit while turnout collapsed to 56% in the heartland of Glasgow.
The pound plunged to its lowest level since 1985 as jubilant Nigel Farage faced outrage for saying Brexit had been achieved "without a single bullet being fired" - a week after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot dead.
Our live updating graphic below shows the progress of each side below. This is what the results mean so far - and look ahead to what will happen if we leave the EU.
"LEAVE MEANS LEAVE"
Tory MP and Brexit campaigner Dr Liam Fox seems to think he can help lead a campaign promising to break Britain out of the EU, and then not actually go through with it.
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.”
Meanwhile, this German MEP reckons it’s a bit more clear cut than that
Gisela Stuart: "Britain will be stronger"
Leave chair Gisela Stuart claimed victory in the referendum, and said: “People were given the impression they had no choice but to Remain, but they voted to Leave.
“It is incumbent on all of us to be very calm and remember our responsibility for the future of the United Kingdom, and work together to start a process, because this is simply the beginning of the process of initiating leaving the European Union.
“In the long run we will find that both Europe and the United Kingdom will emerge stronger as a result.”
Gisela Stuart: "Britain will be stronger"
Leave chair Gisela Stuart claimed victory in the referendum, and said: “People were given the impression they had no choice but to Remain, but they voted to Leave.“It is incumbent on all of us to be very calm and remember our responsibility for the future of the United Kingdom, and work together to start a process, because this is simply the beginning of the process of initiating leaving the European Union.
“In the long run we will find that both Europe and the United Kingdom will emerge stronger as a result.”
"Batten down the hatches", INVESTORS WARNED.
Investors have been urged to “batten down the hatches” ahead of expected stock market turmoil today.The pound has plunged against the dollar to its lowest level since 1985 as Britain lurched towards Brexit.
Sterling has crashed nearly 10% to $1.34, and by more than 6% against the euro.
Gold - a safe haven in troubled times for investors - is up nearly 6% this morning.
One expert went further, forecasting the UK, will plunge back into recession.
Kathleen Brooks, of City Index, predicted shares in big banks would tumble at least 10% when markets open.
She said: “This is bad news for the country, the economy and the UK’s position in the world order.
“In other words, for now at least we should batten down the hatches.”
Howard Archer, chief UK and European Economist
at IHS Global Insight, predicted the Bank of England would cut its base rate from 0.5% to 0.25%.
“It could also very well resuscitate Quantitative Easing,” he said.
“We suspect that growth will become the main concern within the Bank of England.
“The Monetary Policy Committee will be prepared to look through any near-term spike in inflation from a weakened pound.
“The Bank of England will likely take the view that the weakened growth outlook means it will be harder to hit the 2% inflation target in two years’ time.
“Of course, the Bank of England’s position may well be made even harder if there is a sharp flight of capital from the UK after the EU exit vote, thereby exerting pressure for higher interest rates to attract the inward investment that is needed to finance the large current account deficit.”
Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “Unless a swift deal can be done, the UK is likely to enter recession. “Businesses will hold back from investing, credit costs will rise, and import prices will soar, squeezing households’ spending power.”
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