24/06/2016 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at Ten - the voters decide that, after four decades,

it's time for Britain to leave the European Union.

As the results were declared, there was jubilation among those

who'd campaigned for years to leave the EU.

For Nigel Farage, it's the realisation of a lifelong dream.

More recent converts struck a slightly different note.

I believe we now have a glorious opportunity.

We can pass our laws and set our taxes entirely according

We can control our own borders in a way that is not discriminatory.

For those who'd fought for the UK to remain in the EU,

there was utter dejection and a sense of disbelief.

Within hours of the result, an emotional David Cameron

emerged from Number Ten to announce his resignation.

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

There was turmoil on the financial markets, as sterling plunged

and some company shares fell by almost a third.

In Scotland, where a clear majority voted to remain,

the First Minister declared that independence was back on the cards.

It is therefore a statement of the obvious that the option

of a second referendum must be on the table -

And we'll be looking at how 17 million people took the biggest

political decision in the UK in half a century.

We'll be analysing the results in detail, after this historic vote.

We'll show you the final numbers across the four nations of the

United Kingdom. Stay with us on BBC News.

Good evening from Downing Street, after a tumultuous day in

Early this morning came confirmation that voters had decided that Britain

should leave the European Union, ending a relationship

A few hours later David Cameron appeared outside Number Ten

to announce his resignation, which will take effect in October.

52% voting to leave, 48% voting to remain.

The vote now sets the UK on a very different path,

raising many fundamental questions about the way ahead.

Our first report tonight is from our political

David Cameron, a lucky politician whose luck just run out.

A vote he offered on our place in the world - a vote he lost.

I was absolutely clear about my belief that Britain

is stronger, safer and better off inside the European Union,

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.

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

A defeat so big, the consequences so complex, the Prime Minister

and maybe his family, too, have had enough.

I've said before that Britain can survive outside the European Union

Now the decision has been made to leave, we need

to find the best way, and I will do everything

I love this country and I feel honoured to have served it,

and I will do everything I can in future to help this

But, as that door closes, what lies next?

Boris Johnson, whose decision to push the Out campaign gave it

pulling power that might have made the difference...

..walked into hostility, not a victory parade,

The winning side, a campaign office, not a Whitehall address, but maybe

Michael Gove and Boris Johnson, eager to praise their friend

and rival, David Cameron, and soberly mark the scale

To those who may be anxious, whether at home or abroad, this does

not mean that the United Kingdom will be in any way less united.

Nor, indeed, does it mean that it will be any less European.

And I want to speak to the millions of people, directly to the millions

of people who did not vote for this outcome,

especially young people, who may feel that this decision

in some way involves pulling up a drawbridge or any kind

of isolationism, because I think the very opposite is true.

As we move forward, we should be in no doubt that Britain

is embarking on a new chapter, but one that is in line

Now, we have a new chance to extend that openness even further.

We can build a new, stronger and more positive relation

with our European neighbours based on free trade

It was nearly 5am before the result was final.

The British people have spoken and the answer is, we are out.

But an early push for Out in Sunderland had given a taste

Across the north of England, in markets and coastal towns,

Only sad faces for Remain-held London, Scotland

From tears to cheers they'd been waiting so long to raise.

Nigel Farage, the first party leader to emerge, up and early.

It's a victory for ordinary people, decent people.

It's a victory against the big merchant banks, against the big

businesses and against big politics, and I'm proud of everybody

that had the courage, in the face of all the threats,

everything they were told, they had the guts to stand up

But, as the Prime Minister said he was off, doubts spread

What is your reaction to the Prime Minister resigning?

Awkward - he now faces a vote of confidence.

The unions back him but many MPs believe he hung back rather

I campaigned the length and breadth of this country on a party position,

which was that we should support remaining in Europe,

recognising the many deficiencies of the European Union in order

I made the points about working conditions, the points

about jobs, the points about environmental protection.

But Remain smiles in Scotland could lead to another split.

As they warned, with England choosing Out and Scotland voting In,

the SNP is calling for another vote on Scottish independence.

It's a statement of the obvious that the option of a second

referendum must be on the table, and it is on the table.

People are coming to Westminster to witness this day,

perhaps to make sense of what's really going on.

In the last 24 hours, we've decided to leave

the European Union, an institution that's been part of the fabric

As a result, the Prime Minister has resigned.

There will be someone else in charge in Number Ten from the autumn.

In some of Labour's MPs are trying to force their leader,

The First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, has said

there must be a second referendum on the other union,

the one between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

It's not so much that this result has turned politics upside

down as it's shattered its established conventions.

This flag will become a British souvenir -

But our decision might trigger so much change.

We may watch for years before the banner is final.

Some of the areas which recorded the biggest votes for Leave

were traditional Labour heartlands in Wales, the Midlands

And while some sharply criticised David Cameron for calling

the referendum in the first place, there's also been criticism

of Labour from some Remain campaigners for failing to generate

more support for the EU in traditional Labour areas.

Our correspondent Jeremy Cooke has been speaking to voters in County

Do you mind me asking how you voted?

Around here disillusionment with politics is palpable.

Down the chippy, it's hard to find anyone who voted to remain.

I think it's a class divide, to be honest.

I think they should really bring the government up

to the middle of the country, let us all have a say,

because we get sick of the way things are.

I could have been persuaded both ways, with possibly

leaving if we leave, but to me I think the best

option was obviously just to leave and look

This is a rejection of mainstream politics,

I've never seen any Labour people in here.

A momentous day but, on the factory floor,

They are making water coolers and export to the EU but, again,

most here backed Leave, from the workers to the boss.

History will prove we made the right decision.

I think that in two years' time we'll say, thank God we got out.

I think people have become disillusioned.

All the money is piled in down south, any businesses,

anything like that, it just seems to be in the south of England.

They take care of themselves and leave us in the wilderness.

I used to always vote Labour but I haven't been recently

This country's sinking because there's too

We need these workers to make our factories functional.

We'll always keep a lot of the foreign workers but it's

In the City, it's easier to catch up with some of the 42.5%

It kind of shows that the older generation who mainly voted

voted Leave but most of the younger generation who voted voted to stay.

I think it kind of shows there's a real difference in our future has

I think the north of England generally has taken the opportunity

to get back politically at Cameron, because of all the austerity.

But the Labour strongholds here were not taking much notice

You are better off asking Jeremy Corbyn.

The message flowing from here is the same across the heartlands

They voted above all for change, and change will come and shape

So Mr Cameron emerged from Number Ten at just after eight

this morning to announce that he was stepping

It's just 13 months since he was re-elected, securing

the first Conservative majority in two decades.

Whoever replaces him faces the challenge of trying to unite

the Conservative Party - still sharply divided over Europe.

Our deputy political editor John Pienaar has this report

on Mr Cameron's resignation, and considers his legacy

Well, the crowd, or at least those who wanted out

There's a removal van waiting at the back of there actually,

Get all this cleared away so he can get straight in, the big man in,

For the Camerons, it had ended in tears.

He had taken his last and greatest gamble and lost and his obvious pain

was shared by colleagues who had been by his side in his last battle.

This is a true body blow because he led from the front

and he comes out and he's shown as ever this beautiful composure.

This remarkable leadership, this great courage, to admit look,

I put my neck on the line and here we are.

David Cameron also fought alongside his predecessor,

who felt he was made of the right stuff.

Sir John, first of all briefly your reflection

He looked for a tolerant, inclusive, undivided nation,

and I don't think the fault is at his door that our nation

at this moment upon this issue more fractured than we have seen it

David Cameron didn't have the hardest upbringing.

At Oxford he mixed with fellow old Etonians and others equally

privileged in the famously high-living Bullingdon Club.

As Tory leader, he promised something new and fresh,

He detoxified the Tory brand, greener, driven by compassion,

In office, along with the Liberal Democrats,

he led the first coalition since the war.

He won a referendum in Scotland and with the promise of a new deal

We will give the British people a referendum with a very

He took gamble after gamble because he felt he had to,

to hold power or under enormous pressure in Scotland

In the end he lost everything and Scottish independence

His dream of leading a socially liberal one-nation

His place in history is spoiled, his crown passed on

Boris Johnson is early favourite, popular, though

Theresa May's hopes are no secret and Michael Gove

denies any ambition, others fancy the job

I hope very much we do have a woman in the final two.

I think that's important in 21st century Britain.

Whether it's me, whether it's from other brilliant female

colleagues, that's going to be for the party to decide.

Well, I'm not going to make any decision about that until we've had

a bit of a rest over the weekend and had a chance to talk

Obviously I wouldn't rule anything out.

Off to the Palace today, part of a PM's routine -

And though David Cameron always said he could see a life

after the premiership, he's lost something he loved

John Pienaar, BBC News, Westminster.

Our political editor Laura Kuenssberg is with me.

Despite all of the appeals from Downing Street, the starkest

warnings throughout this campaign, the voters were not having it. They

weren't. As one Cabinet minister said in the early hours of this

morning, they don't believe us, despite all of the clamour of the

campaign, all of those very doom laden warnings to the public, in the

end, not by a huge surge but a decisive margin and in error

results, voters rejected that. I think that, in 24 hours, the Prime

Minister gone, the Labour leader under pressure, the consequences of

this decision that's been made in one day are only just beginning to

really unfold. This is one of those moments we will look back on as

being so significant, because a referendum, that biting black and

white vote, a very clear-cut decision, that is something that can

have the kind of consequences we are only just beginning to understand.

The numbers in the results were not surprising. The polls seemed tight

and we knew it would be close. But the consequences are unknown, and

it's almost as if voters were willing in the end to take the

gamble they were warned about again and again because they thought, you

know what, it might be worth it and we are not really up for listening

to those warnings. The Prime Minister, who began promising this

referendum to try to settle a row inside the Tory party family, he has

ended up paying for that not just with his job but also probably with

the legacy he cared so much about. The referendum result caused serious

turbulence in the financial markets. The pound saw its biggest-ever

one-day fall before rallying. The FTSE 100 shares index plummeted

at one point by 8% before the Bank of England said it was ready

with ?250 billion of extra funding. And US stocks saw their biggest

single day loss Our economics editor Kamal Ahmed

tracked the markets' His report contains

some flash photography. After a quiet start,

red ink covered the screens. The markets reacted with one quick

word when Britain voted to leave the EU - sell,

anything that is risky. The pound fell, bank stocks

fell, only tension rose. The Governor of the Bank of England

went public, trying to bring some Her Majesty's Treasury and the Bank

of England have engaged in extensive contingency planning

and the Chancellor and I have remained in close contact,

including through the night Today has been an extremely

difficult and turbulent day... It was a day reminiscent

of financial crises of old, Black Wednesday of 1992,

when Britain crashed out of the forerunner of

the single currency. This time, the pound fell further,

with one investor predicting There has been huge volatility

in the foreign exchange markets, with sterling down over 10% at one

stage, and stock prices have fallen pretty much everywhere,

particularly in the banks, where we've seen stock prices

fall over 20%. There were plenty of predictions

of economic chaos if Britain voted Some of those predictions

will now be tested. Today has seen falling stock

markets, a falling pound. Sometimes it can seem a bit distant

from everyday life, Take holidays - they could be more

expensive as the pound weakens - but a weaker sterling

may boost exports. House prices could fall -

good news for first-time buyers - and there was no move

an historically low interest rates and there probably

won't be for a while. Ryanair, a prominent supporter

of staying in the EU but, with Brexit ahead, the tune

has now changed. We won't be able to make

new investments in the UK. We are now going to have maybe

a two-year period of great uncertainty and what businesses

want is certainty. We will look at making our

investments and we will have a greater deal of certainty

in economies like Germany, For some business leaders, it was

time to focus on the positive. Do we want to have a positive vision

for the future or does it If we go down the negative route,

we'll have failure. If we go down the positive route

we have a great opportunity. Can it flourish in a new world

outside the European union? Let's talk to our business

editor, Simon Jack. Lots of viewers will be wondering, I

am sure, when are they going to start experiencing some of the

effects and consequences of this decision? It was politically

dramatic and financially traumatic this morning. People will be

wondering how it is going to affect them. We will see some differences

almost immediately. The count in your pocket might not go as far.

Petrol might go up a couple of pence. Holidays might get more

expensive. On Monday morning, life will go on, but big changes are on

their way. Companies might begin to start thinking, are we going to

invest as much? Air bus, which employs 15,000 people, they have

said they are going to review their investment strategy. Some investment

banks from America are saying, they are saying, will we have the same

number of people? These things will take potentially years to pick so,

on Monday morning, do nothing. It doesn't mean that nothing is

happening. It is a very significant moment in the economic life of this

country. In Scotland, where a big majority

voted to stay in the EU, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said

that she intended to take "all possible steps" to keep

Scotland in the European Union. She said a second Scottish

independence referendum was now "highly likely" and that it

could take place within two years. Our Scotland editor Sarah Smith

reports on the reaction in Scotland and its implications

for the future of the UK. CROWD CHANT: Migrants

are welcome here. Migrants welcome, maybe,

but the referendum result is roundly rejected by protesters angry

about being dragged out of the EU They believe if Scotland

was independent they wouldn't have to leave, and Nicola Sturgeon says

another referendum is on the table. Scotland faces the prospect

of being taken out of I regard that as democratically

unacceptable. We said clearly that we do not

want to leave the European Union. I am determined that we will do

what it takes to make sure Are you confident that

in the potential turmoil that could follow a Brexit,

that those are circumstances in which Scotland will want

to vote for independence? It is exactly because of

the uncertainty and the potential turmoil that we face that I think

it is my responsibility to seek the stability and certainty

that membership of the So Nicola Sturgeon did not say

that she will definitely hold another referendum on Scottish

independence, but she did say She believes this Brexit will make

Scots more likely to support independence, but she's not

going to set the date She knows she can't afford

to lose another referendum. Don't assume independence is now

inevitable, says the The 1.6 million votes cast in this

referendum in favour of Remain do not wipe away the 2 million votes

that we cast less than two years ago, and we do not address

the challenges of leaving the European Union by leaving our

own union of nation's our biggest Voters remember being told less

than two years ago that to stay in the EU, they had

to vote to stay in the UK, so many are now starting

to think again. I voted to stay the last time,

because I do believe in the United Kingdom,

but I suspect this time I personally wouldn't but I know

a lot of people that have already And minds may change yet again

if Scots are asked to go If there is another referendum, the

SNP have not decided yet, they will wait and see if voter frustration at

the EU result doesn't translate into increased support for independence

but, if they do choose to hold another vote, senior sources have

told me they will go for it pretty quickly. They want to get it done

inside two years before the UK leave the EU.

Thank you, Sarah Smith, how Scotland editor. Let's have more reaction.

We are going to talk to Northern Ireland, where they voted to stay,

and Wales, where they voted to leave.

Let's join Chris Buckler in Newry in County Down.

Northern Ireland, like Scotland, voted to remain in the EU, but it is

the verdict of the UK that mattered and so people are starting to

consider the consequences for places like Newry, that is close to the

Irish border and has been a centre of cross-border trade. Could it

mean, as some have suggested during that campaign, that customs

checkpoint could return? That hasn't been answered today. At Northern

Ireland's First Minister, who campaigned for a leave vote, as told

people not to panic and they could be opportunities here. Irish

republicans clearly believe there are opportunities, with a push for a

second independence referendum. They are asking for what is known as the

border poll, basically a referendum on a united Ireland. It is highly

unlikely that will happen any time soon, but one consequence of the

referendum already is that, as a result of the Good Friday agreement,

people can hold an Irish and a British passport, and today there

has been a rush from people to get forms for Irish passports, but only

in nationalist areas but also in unionist areas, because an Irish

passport will remain a European Union passport.

Wales voted to leave the EU. 17 out of 2010 local authority areas wanted

to go. That included Labour strongholds. -- out of 22. Some of

the poorer parts of the country, which had had the lion's share of

structural funds in the last 16 years. Wales had been a net

beneficiary of EU funding but the economic arguments that were put

forward did not convince people here to stay. British wide issues of

immigration, sovereignty and national security were important to

Welsh voters, too. However, there will now be a scramble as regards

funding. Wales's First Minister, Carwyn Jones, as called for the

Barnett formula, the way in which the budget that Wales gets from

Westminster is calculated, to be reconsidered as a matter of urgency

to make up for the shortfall. Thank you, Sian Lloyd. And Chris

Buckler in Newry. So the result was relatively close,

the turnout was high, and the regional and national

variations were stark. Our correspondent Christian Fraser

has been taking a closer look OK, let's take an in-depth look

at some of these final numbers. The total number of eligible

voters was 46.5 million. The turnout, 72% and that

is the biggest turnout Now, they thought a bigger turnout

would be good news for Remain. The margin of victory, six points -

53% Leave, 46% Remain. A different story of course

in Scotland - all 32 Slightly lower turnout but no

question over the result. Overwhelmingly pro-Remain

and in Edinburgh incidentally, A big turnout, but only five

of the 22 voting areas going for Remain and rounded up,

that's almost the same result Cardiff was Remain,

but Swansea was Leave. In Northern Ireland,

down there at the bottom again lower than average turnout,

but a sizeable vote for Remain, especially in the areas

along the border. Three out of four areas in Belfast

were for Remain. So the pollsters, the City,

the bookies, they all got it wrong because they didn't understand

what was going on north of London. Look at this area here -

all blue in the rural parts of England, into the North

and North West, the key This is the Labour areas

of Blackburn, Rossendale Boston in Lincolnshire -

the highest vote for Not a Labour seat but a Tory one

this time, and according to the 2011 census, home to the highest

proportion of eastern European migrants anywhere

in England and Wales. Down here, Great Yarmouth,

a town with a Ukip mayor. Again, one of the top five Leave

votes in the country. We are showing you there

the nationwide split Well, it's far too early to give

you a definitive take, but this is what one poll

conducted yesterday says. It suggests 27% of 18

to 25-year-olds wanted to leave, compared to 73% wanting

to stay in Europe. But as voters get older,

that starts to swing the other way. For people over 65, research

suggests that 40% wanted to stay Christian Fraser with a closer look

at voting figures and percentages. If you'd like more information

on how people voted in your area, you can find the details

on our website, Have a look at the website, the

links are there, you can find your area and see the breakdown on the

page. Chancellor Merkel of Germany

expressed "great regret" at Britain's decision

to leave the EU. She's due to meet President Hollande

of France for urgent talks on Monday, ahead

of a summit on Tuesday. But some of Europe's

politicians have been calling for their own referendums

in the light of the UK result. Our Europe editor Katya Adler

is in Brussels this evening. Well, there was a sharp intake of

breath across Europe today, as it began to sink in, this really had

happened. The UK is leaving. Of course, the leaders of Europe's

increasingly influential Euro-sceptic parties rushed to cheer

the results, but the governments of Europe are very worried and here in

Brussels the mood is despondent and resentful. Meanwhile, passionate

Europeans are now dubbing our referendum day Black Thursday as

they react to the news. The day a British decision delivered

an almighty blow across a continent. Europe's media and its

leaders were stunned. TRANSLATION: Let's not

beat around the bush. Today marks a turning point

for Europe and the project The French president,

facing tough elections next year, warned of what he called the immense

dangers of extremism and populism. His pressing concern -

a popular rival who calls for France Brexit for her was

a political present. TRANSLATION: This

is a historic moment. What nobody had foreseen just a few

months ago is now a reality for all. Yes, it is possible to leave

the European Union. And out, say Europe's

leaders, is out. They want to start the Brexit

process now - not in October, Frustration then for the Brussels

bigwigs, at Cameron, at Brexit, Is this the beginning of the end

of the European Union? "No," said the President

of the European Commission, His refusal to properly question

is indicative, you could say, of the aloof Brussels attitude

critics so disliked. Discussion in Europe is now swiftly

with moving from Brexit to possible Frexit for France,

Swexit for Sweden, and more. In all the years I have been

watching European politics I have never seen this continent more

Eurosceptic, and the future of So the complex process of uncoupling

the UK from the European Union is expected to dominate relations

with Brussels for years to come, but the UK's formal membership

could end as soon as 2018. So what does the likely timetable

look like for the days, Our chief correspondent Gavin Hewitt

considers the options. Now, after 43 years,

the UK is leaving. For the time being, EU laws

will still apply, but what is The formal way of departing

from the EU is set out in Article 50 Once an application has been made,

it has to be completed That period can be extended,

but only if all 27 This timetable will eventually

affect everything from trade and investment, but many

Conservatives who backed Leave They want to start with informal

talks, testing the ground before I think the chances of them getting

that are very slim indeed. There is no incentive for the other

states to do that. They will say, you've

agreed to this process, Some of them have already said that

it's Article 50 or nothing else. The timetable may not be entirely

in Britain's hands. There are some in Europe

who would like to see the departure process begin straightaway in order

to lessen the uncertainty And what about trade,

about continuing access During the campaign, few details

emerged about the trade deal Some in the Leave campaign said

they would prefer to exit the single market and to strike a UK-EU free

trade agreement, but former European Commissioner Peter Mandelson says

striking deals will be They bent over backwards

during the Prime Minister's renegotiation to make it easier

for us to stay. They are now going to soay, OK,

you've made your decision, you've taken your choice,

the caravan has got to move on, The priority for some in the Leave

campaign would be to repeal the act which establishes

the supremacy of EU law, but determining which EU laws

to keep will be an immense task, Prominent Leave campaigners

were emphasising today there was no rush to trigger the withdrawal

process, but EU leaders may take In the USA, President Obama said

he respected the referendum result and insisted that the relationship

between the US and The presumptive Republican

presidential candidate Donald Trump was in Ayrshire today,

and said it was a "great thing" that the British people had -

in his words ? "taken Our North America editor

Jon Sopel sent this report. A quiet entrance isn't

Donald Trump's style. And there was even more swagger

about the man today. In golf, timing is

everything, politics, too. And his arrival in Scotland

to open a newly refurbished The political revolution

is threatening in the US had come I think it will be a good thing,

you are taking your country back, you are letting people that you want

into your country and the people that you don't want or don't think

will be appropriate for your country or good for your country,

you are not going to have to take. Look, Europe, like the

United States, has made mistakes. Would you support the breakup

of the European Union A different golf course two months

earlier and Barack Obama had come to London to relent David Cameron

a helping hand in the Brexit debate. He couldn't have been

more emphatic or blunt. It won't happen any time

soon and the UK will be That forcefullness grated or many

Britons and the most powerful man in the world may have

overplayed his hand. Certainly, it was a different tone

from the US president today. I do think that yesterday's vote

speaks to the ongoing changes and challenges

raised by globalisation. But while the UK's relationship

with the EU will change, one thing that will not change

is the special relationship that The EU will remain one

of our indispensable partners. America is 3,000 miles in that

direction but today it The forces that have propelled

Britain towards leaving the EU are the same ones that have resulted

in Donald Trump gaining the Republican nomination

and possibly the presidency, Jon Sopel, BBC News, Turnberry, on

the Ayrshire coast. The result, as we've heard,

confounded the pollsters and came after a nine-week campaign

characterised by bitter debate between political allies

as well as opponents. The Leave campaign focussed squarely

in the final days on urging voters to "take back control",

while Remain insisted that Britain was "stronger,

safer and better off" in the EU. Our correspondent James

Landale reports on how How did the Leave campaign defy

expectations and win so many We are better off, we are stronger,

we are safer inside. The start of the campaign

was dominated by pro-Remain politicians warning

about the economic risks of Brexit, but voters did not trust the experts

or the celebrities and, by the end, it was it was Leave's

slogan that you couldn't escape. At the same time, people heard

Leave's warnings about the impact of immigration on public services

and its fears about what it saw as the threat of

Turkey joining the EU. The Leave campaign was very

disciplined in getting its messages out on money and on migration

and an accession, Secondly, I think it had

an optimistic note. It was much more hopeful

about what you will get If we vote Leave and take back

control, I believe that this Thursday could be our country's

Independence Day. In Boris Johnson, Leave were blessed

with a popular figurehead who, with Michael Gove, brought political

showbiz and intellectual credibility to a campaign that reached out

to swing voters. While there were some

tensions with Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader ran his own campaign

and appealed beyond his core support to traditional Labour voters,

many of whom sensed Jeremy Corbyn's equivocation

about supporting Remain. Leave won the referendum

because they successfully mobilised a particular section of British

society - economically disadvantaged, mainly white,

older, English voters, who live outside London but do not

feel as though they've been winning from globalisation,

from European integration, and who wanted to send a very

strong message on identity A group of people who are not

regular voters but whom Leave This campaign was just

about Boris and borders. -- wasn't just about Boris and

borders. It was won by the Leave campaign

because they tapped into a wider sense of antiestablishment feeling,

and that won them the support of voters who feel left behind

by globalisation and often ignored James Landale, BBC

News, central London. As we've been hearing,

the referendum results paint a stark picture of a divided country,

with Northern Ireland and Scotland voting strongly to remain

against Welsh and English support Of the nine English regions only

London voted to stay, and the results reflected social

and generational divides - as our home editor Mark Easton

explains. Peterborough has Anglo-Saxon roots,

a cathedral city on the edge of England's fenlands, that voted

decisively to leave the European Union. Since the enlargement of the

EU in 2004, this city has been the arrival of some 15,000 Eastern and

Central European migrants, helping fuel and economic boom in the city,

but also putting pressure on public services and perhaps most

fundamentally of all, changing the character of this ancient English

settlement. Hurray, hurray, we are out today. People here are excited

about Brexit, optimistic that leaving the EU means a better

Britain with more homes. I might be able to get accommodation that's

been given to a refugee. More opportunity. English people will be

able to get more jobs. More control. We want our own borders back and we

can make our own laws. And a better life. Now should be a Bank Holiday,

Independent Day. On Peterborough Prison at Lincoln Road, whether EU

arrivals have put down roots, one quickly gets a sense of the

resentment that immigration has spawned. This might explain why

Peterborough about it Leave, a traditional English baker's shop,

closed after 136 years, and why? People tend to blame something that

has happened two doors down, a shiny new Polish delicatessen. The three

generations that traded for over 100 years, it's gone too far. The

country has gone too far. The country will never be the same

again, but we can only hope that we can put a stop to that and perhaps

rebuild it a little bit better. Just 40 miles south, the city of similar

size with a very different view of Brexit. Cambridge voted by almost

3-1 in favour of Remain. Its economy is international, its population

thinks globally. At the station, a multistorey

bicycle park. This is a young, energetic, highly educated place

that sees Europe not as a threat but an opportunity and today for many

was a dark day. I feel really ashamed of my country at the moment.

It's really sad. It's incredibly depressing. The world fragmenting is

not a world I want to live in. IMB founder of a company in the area

that has attracted over $100 million investment and has employees in

Cambridge and worldwide and we will be thinking about moving on. I don't

know what to say. I need to see what's going to happen. Do you feel

nervous now, as somebody from Italy? I think I still need to realise what

happened. Britain finds itself deeply divided. Optimism and

pessimism swirl like counter currents in the same stream.

Successful navigation will require cool heads and smooth hands.

Membership of the European Union and before it the European Economic

Community has been a central focus of Britain's foreign

So leaving will mark a fundamental shift in Britain's place

in the world and in its relations with other countries.

Our correspondent James Robbins has been looking back

at Britain's EU experience - and the impact of today's result.

The entire course of Britain's post-imperial history has just

ARCHIVE FOOTAGE: ...to represent the Queen in the celebrations

marking the transformation of the century-old

60 years ago, the age of Empire was coming to an end.

Colonies started getting independence, and Britain

It was a new alliance with our European neighbours which beckoned.

Officially we became members at midnight, local time...

In 1973 Britain finally joined the Common Market.

Is Europe stronger with Britain a member?

40 years on, the leading historian of post-war Britain says

it is impossible to exaggerate the magnitude of this

Never in our peacetime history have so many dials

been reset, as a result of a single day's events.

The only thing comparable in my lifetime, and I was born just after

the war, is getting rid of the British Empire.

This is guillotine time, this is quite

extraordinary and, in peacetime, quite unprecedented.

Once upon a time Britain seemed enthusiastic about

This was Margaret Thatcher campaigning in the 1975

referendum, but as Prime Minister in the 80s she became increasingly

Both feeding and feeding off popular headlines which helped

drive a growing sense Britain was surrendering

Fast-forward to this century, and British opposition

-- opposition to the entire project grew.

A combination of migration, global economic crisis,

plus the Eurozone's travails, tipped British public opinion

to this outright rejection of the European Union.

So will Britain find a new role, and can it remain America's first

friend after quitting Europe's top table?

That is the danger, that Britain seems like

Little Britain, if you like, that it won't be speaking for a whole block,

it won't be speaking for anything more than itself.

It will still obviously be available for an ally

for the United States with all the code of military support and

intelligence support that it has, but whether it counts as much

symbolically, which has been such a value to Washington, that is what

For 50 years, Britain's prime ministers

have come and gone - courting Europe, joining Europe,

by turns infuriated, and sometimes enthused, until David

Britain has chosen another, quite different, path.

James mentioned headlines that are featured in terms of European

coverage in the papers over the years. Let's show you some tomorrow

morning 's headlines, because they contrast, to say the least. The

Daily Mail, it was the day that the quiet people of Britain rose up

against an arrogant, out of touch political class. A rather different

tone on the daily mirror. The Mirror FrontPage for tomorrow, what happens

now, they say? There it is, with an image of a rather emotional David

Cameron and Samantha Cameron. The note of uncertainty about what

happens next. A very different sense from Liberation, the left of centre

French daily, very rare to see a big English phrase on the front page.

That famous image of Boris Johnson in 2012 when the Olympics were on

and he was London mayor. Three very different headlines for you. Laura

is with me again in Downing Street, but let's join Katya Adler first,

how Europe editor. Just a sense from you of the kind of approach that the

UK can expect from the other European states in these

negotiations. Of course, the Leave vote sends a message that the EU is

crumbling, so for EU leaders the priority is damage control, and one

way to do that is to show that Out hurts and isn't worth it. They want

but others off. The UK will probably get a decent trade deal in the end,

but nobody here wants to make it easy. Tonight the European

Commission president said, this will not be an amicable divorce, and

certainly France is keen to make an example, if you like of the UK.

Don't forget, Paris is now much more powerful inside the EU now that the

UK has decided to walk out. Even here, there are EU splits. Central

and eastern Europe don't want to alienate the UK. They depend on

Britain to maintain tough sanctions against Britain. Angela Merkel's

Germany is somewhere in between. A passionate European, she doesn't

want others to leave but, as a pragmatist, especially when it comes

to German trade, she will work with the UK, eventually. Laura, you

mentioned earlier, but let's underline it, which is that we are

only beginning probably to realise the scale and import of the change

that ahead. Absolutely, this is the end of part one and the beginning of

however many. On Wednesday night, we were saying how rare it is as

individuals in a country we get a chance to make a political decision

that permanently changes the course of our country -- our country and

potentially a whole continent. We had the chance and, for better or

worse, the country made that decision. The consequences could be

so enormous, for Scotland, for those divisions between town and country,

for that whole sense of who we are as a nation. Tomorrow morning, next

week, next month, we will all probably wake up and feel that's not

very much has changed, but things do change in politics. They never could

stay the same for ever, however much the settlement feels like it is

baked into the Magi country. It is probably only once or twice in our

lifetimes that a decision has been taken that it had the chance to

transform a country. -- it is baked into the nature of our country. We

are only just beginning to understand that this is one of those

really big, significant junctions. Thank you very much.

And that's all from Downing Street tonight, after a day

of truly momentous change for the United Kingdom

The voters have set a new course for Britain, breaking

a 43-year bond with the EU - the biggest political change

We leave you tonight with some of the enduring words

DAVID DIMBLEBY: The decision taken in 1975 by this country to join

the Common Market has been reversed by this referendum, to leave the EU.

I've got my country back, what I've got, I want to keep.

I feel like someone has kicked me in the stomach.

Europe is not perfect but we're much better trying to influence it

17 million people have said we must leave the European Union.

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.

This does not mean that the United Kingdom will be

Nor indeed does it mean that it will be any less European.

It's not the policy, this country are sinking

because there's too many people coming in.

I think people became disillusioned, they really have.

I thought we would have stayed in, so very disappointed

This morning when I woke up I did actually think, oh God,

I'm glad we're out, that said, this is our England,