While the majority of the country voted to leave, Scotland, Northern Ireland, London (and Gibraltar) voted to remain.
Nigel Farage, one of the main promoters of the leave campaign, announced in his victory speech that no bullet had been fired.
Just days before the referendum, labour MP Jo Cox died after being shot and stabbed by a man shouting "Britain first".
As the referendum results became apparent
- The pound sterling fell to its lowest level in 31 years.
- The markets crashed.
- David Cameron announced his resignation as Conservative Party leader and UK Prime Minister.
- Scotland and Northern Ireland voiced their firm intention to remain in the EU, potentially leading to the dismemberment of the United Kingdom.
- The ratings agencies downgraded the UK's credit rating.
When asked about the £350 million per week that had been promised to the NHS instead of the EU - one of the key messages of the Leave campaign - Nigel Farage admitted that it was a mistake and that he couldn't guarantee it.
The other lies of the Leave campaign soon became apparent:
Immigration levels cannot be reduced even if the UK leaves the EU.
The Leave campaigners now want preferential access to the single market, but the UK cannot get this if it does not accept freedom of movement.
Once voters started to become aware of the politicians' lies and of the devastating effects of the Leave vote on the economy and on the domestic political landscape, #Regrexit started to trend on Twitter.
So far 4 million people have signed a petition calling for a second referendum on the EU.
On 28 June Nigel Farage spoke (for the last time?) and was booed at the European Parliament.
On 28 June at an informal meeting of the European Council (for the first time in 40 years without the UK PM), the 27 leaders of the member states announced that there would be no negotiations of any kind until the UK formally notified its intention to withdraw from the EU, i.e. until it triggered Article 50.
They also made it clear that there would be no compromise on freedom of movement.
On 30 June, in a shock announcement, Boris Johnson, a strong promoter of the Leave campaign and aspiring leader of the Tories, announced in a press statement that he would not stand for the Tory leadership contest.
So who will be the next conservative party leader?
Here are the contestants:
Teresa May - home secretary and supporter of Remain.
Michael Gove - justice secretary and Brexit campaigner.
Stephen Crabb - work and pensions secretary and supporter of Remain.
Andrea Leadsom - energy minister and promoter of Leave campaign.
Liam Fox - former cabinet minister and Brexit campaigner.
Meanwhile, the labour party is in disarray. Jeremy Corbyn, the party leader, has been repeatedly encouraged to leave (including by David Cameron "For heaven's sake man, go!") but he insists he's not going anywhere. Labour MPs even passed a vote of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn.
The Liberal Democrats party has reported that people are joining them at a rate of one a minute following leader Tim Farron’s commitment to fight to rejoin the EU.
Finally, the referendum result is not legally binding in UK law and alone does not trigger the UK's departure from the EU. That has to be done under the withdrawal process laid down in Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Once notice is given by the PM, there is a two-year deadline to negotiate an exit deal.
Please join me for the next instalments.
