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EU referendum result: Cameron to speak after Britain votes leave – live Brexit live: David Cameron resigns after EU referendum result
(35 minutes later)
7.55am BST 8.34am BST
07:55 08:34
EU leaders are going to meet in Brussels next week without the UK present to decide their stance for the withdrawal negotiations, Sky’s Faisal Islam reports. You can listen to the full audio of Cameron’s resignation speech here.
Informal meeting of EU 27 next week without PM in the room to decide common negotiating position vs UK on exit negotiations 8.33am BST
7.46am BST 08:33
07:46 Here is the key quote from Cameron, where he announces his resignation.
Related: Britain votes to leave the European Union – in pictures I was absolutely clear [in the referendum] about my belief that Britain is stronger, safer and better off inside the European Union. And I made clear the referendum was about this and this alone, not the future of any single politician, including myself.
7.41am BST 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.
07:41 I will do everthing 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 to its next destination.
Matthew Weaver This is not a decision I have taken lightly. But I do believe it’s in the national interest to have a period of stability and then the new leadership required.
The former cabinet secretary Gus O’Donnell has urged the government to delay invoking article 50 on leaving the EU. Speaking to BBC News, Lord O’Donnell, who led the civil service until 2011, also urged David Cameron to consider whether he is the right person to lead negotiations to exit the bloc. There is no need for a precise timetable today. But in my view we should aim to have a new prime minister in place by the start of the Conservative party conference in October.
He said: “On the political front we need to sort ourselves out to get a negotiating position …For example, when do we trigger article 50? If I were cabinet secretary I would be saying there is no great rush about that, because this is a two-year process – and believe me this is not a simple process. It was designed to make leaving very difficult for the leaving country … It took Greenland three years to sort out its exit and they only had one issue – fish – and rather fewer people than watch most football matches in Euro 2016. 8.27am BST
On Cameron’s future, he added: “We need that negotiating position to be sorted out and the question is who is going to do that ... I think the prime minister will want to think about whether he is the right person to do that or whether he will want to say ‘look, the people have spoken, so I’m going to manage an orderly period where we will move on to a new set of people who might do this negotiation’. Who he leaves it to is a matter for the Conservative party.” 08:27
7.40am BST 8.26am BST
07:40 08:26
Corbyn says government should use article 50 to start EU withdrawal process now He says he thinks Britain can survive outside the EU, and find a way.
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, tells the BBC he thinks the government must invoke article 50 of the Lisbon treaty now, to start the two-year withdrawal process from the EU. He says he loves this country, and has been honoured to serve it. He will do all he can to help it succeed.
There are some difficult days ahead, he says. We must do everything we can to protect jobs and working conditions. 8.25am BST
Q: So why do you want to invoke article 50 now? Why rush? 08:25
Corbyn says negotiations must take place. We must get the best deal possible. Cameron announces he will resign as prime minister before the autumn
Q: It has been said you were half-hearted. He said your enthusiasm for the EU was only seven and a half out of 10. He says he is very proud of what he has done as prime minister.
Corbyn says he was making the point that there were problems with the EU that needed to be addressed. He says he has always thought you have to confront big decisions, not duck them.
Q: You said there could be no upper limit to immigration in this country. Many of your supporters probably think the opposite. He formed a coalition, delivered a referendum in Scotland and gave the public a referendum on Europe.
Corbyn says he was talking about single market rules. He fought the referendum with head and heart.
Q: What is your policy on immigration? The referendum was not about him, he says.
Corbyn says Labour will have to develop one. It will apply to Europe as well as to the rest of the world. But it is important to recognise that immigrants have a lot to contribute. But the British people have decided to follow another path. So they need a new prime minister.
Q: Many people voted to leave because they think immigration is too high.
Corbyn says that may be the case. But these communities need to be helped, through policies like a migration impact fund.
Q: Isn’t it the case that people are worried about the numbers?
Corbyn says the government is underfunding areas affected by immigration.
Q: What do you want the PM to do?
Corbyn says he hopes the PM will steady the pound. He says he needs to negotiate a good deal with the EU. After that, what Cameron does is up to him.
UpdatedUpdated
at 7.48am BST at 8.32am BST
7.30am BST 8.22am BST
07:30 08:22
Farage says it is 'very difficult' to see how Cameron can stay on as PM He says he would reassure markets and investors that the economy is fundamentally strong.
Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, is on the Today programme now. And he would reassure Britons living abroad, and EU nationals here, that there will be no immediate changes.
He says he thinks 23 June should become a national holiday. There are 183 other countries in the world that celebrate an independence day. Now we can become the 184th, he says. He says he will involved the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in the renegotiation.
He also says it is “very difficult” to see how David Cameron could stay on as prime minister. 8.21am BST
The first thing we have to do is have a government that is committed to Brexit. That is absolutely key. I think it is very difficult for [Cameron] to stay on as prime minister given that he involved himself so heavily in the campaign, told us that dreadful things would happen to us if we were to leave, recession, threats of war and all the rest of it. I find it difficult to believe that he could become a Brexit prime minister. I might be wrong, but I doubt it. 08:21
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at 7.49am BST at 8.22am BST
7.23am BST 8.20am BST
07:23 08:20
David Cameron is due to give his statement from Downing Street at 8am, according to Sky. The stock market also opens at 8am, as usual, meaning that we will be able to see market reaction to what he says as he says it. Cameron says he wants to thank all those who took part in the campaign.
7.17am BST The will of the British people is an instruction that must be delivered.
07:17 He says it was not a decision that was taken lightly.
Official referendum results announced in Manchester - video There can be no doubt about the result.
All the referendum results are now in. Here are the key figures. 8.20am BST
Areas 08:20
Remain: 119 Cameron says the country has taken party in a giant democratic exercise.
Leave: 263 All the people have had their say.
Votes We should be proud of the fact that we trust the people, he says. There are times when it is right to ask the people.
Remain: 16,141,241 (48.11%) 8.19am BST
Leave: 17,410,742 (51.89%) 08:19
This is from the Telegraph’s James Kirkup.
Best guess: Cameron resigns Tory leadership immediately but remains PM until a new party leader is chosen. Last contest took c3 months.
8.16am BST
08:16
David Cameron's statement
David Cameron is about to deliver his statement outside Number 10.
8.15am BST
08:15
Rumour suddenly gaining traction that Cameron to resign - not confirmed by any stretch
8.14am BST
08:14
FTSE 100 and sterling plunge
Katie Allen
Shares plunged and the pound plummeted to a 31-year low as panicked traders reacted to the UK’s vote to leave the EU and the prospect of recession amid months of market turmoil.
The FTSE 100 tumbled 530 points, or 8.4%, within the first few minutes of trading. That mirrored sharp losses for the pound overnight as investors sold sterling on the back of growing worries about the UK’s economic outlook.
Live Global markets plunge after UK votes to leave EU – live updatesShares are plunging, and sterling has crumbled to a 31-year low, after the leave campaign won a shock victory in the EU referendumRead more
In London, bank shares and housebuilders were among the worst hit with losses of as much as 40% for Taylor Wimpey and Berkeley Homes. Barclays was down by 30%.
Related: FTSE 100 and sterling plunge on Brexit panic
8.11am BST
08:11
Salmond says Scotland must now hold second independence referendum
Severin Carrell
Alex Salmond has said he believes Scotland must now stage a second independence referendum before the UK’s exit from the European Union is agreed – a timescale that suggests a new referendum within the next two years.
He said the Brexit vote, despite a large majority in Scotland in favour of the EU, is a material change in Scotland’s constitutional position. Salmond told BBC Radio Scotland: “This changes the whole context of Scottish independence.”
The former first minister and Scottish National party leader said his successor, Nicola Sturgeon, now had to implement her manifesto pledge to call for a second referendum if there was “a significant and material change in the circumstances that prevailed in 2014, such as Scotland being taken out of the EU against our will”.
Salmond said: “I’m quite certain that Nicola will start to implement that manifesto.”
His intervention implies that he expects Sturgeon to press for a quick second poll. She has been hesitant on the case for an immediate referendum because there is no clear or substantial support for it in recent opinion polls.
Sturgeon is due to make a statement in Edinburgh this morning. While insisting that her government is given a direct role in the UK government’s negotiations with the EU on exiting, the first minister could also demand that Westminster gives Holyrood the legal authority to stage a second referendum if it wants to.
8.10am BST
08:10
Rowena Mason
An orchestrated move against Jeremy Corbyn appears to be underway as Labour’s shadow cabinet prepares to convene this morning. There are rumours of some of his MPs preparing to sign a motion of no confidence in him and some are calling for him to resign - anonymously at this stage.
The Labour leader has just appeared on the airwaves saying the main driver for the vote for Brexit was economic instability.
But a number of Labour MPs are furious about what they see as his lacklustre campaigning for remain and refusal to acknowledge the party’s core supporters do not trust it to deal with their concerns about immigration.
One Labour MP said:
Corbyn has to go. The referendum proved he is worse than even his worse critics said he would be. Even people who supported him have seen he is not up to it. He can’t motivate Labour voters, let alone persuade anyone else. He can’t handle a campaign or even manage to get a message across in an interview. But it is not just that he is incompetent and not up to the job: he has no ideas beyond his vacuous slogans. He hasn’t set out a single serious policy since he became leader and the views he does have are diametrically opposed to the public’s.
UpdatedUpdated
at 7.43am BST at 8.14am BST
7.13am BST 8.05am BST
07:13 08:05
Bank of England will take 'all necessary steps' to preserve monetary and financial stability Matthew Weaver
The Bank of England has issued a statement this morning: The European council president, Donald Tusk, has promised “wider reflection” on the future of the union in the wake of Britain’s vote to leave, but suggested that Brexit could make the union stronger.
The Bank of England is monitoring developments closely. It has undertaken extensive contingency planning and is working closely with HM Treasury, other domestic authorities and overseas central banks. Speaking in Brussels, Tusk said: “I have offered the leaders an informal meeting of the 27 in the margins of the European council summit. And I will also propose to the leaders that we start a wider reflection on the future of our union.
The Bank of England will take all necessary steps to meet its responsibilities for monetary and financial stability. “It is true that the past years have been the most difficult ones in the history of our union, but I always remember what my father used to tell me ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’.”
For full coverage of the business reaction to the referendum vote, do read our business live blog. He added: “On behalf of the 27 leaders I can say that we determined to keep our unity as 27, for us the union is the framework for our common future. I would like to reassure you that there will be no legal vacuum. Until the United Kingdom formerly leaves the European Union, EU law will continue to apply to and within the UK. By this I mean rights as well as obligations. All the procedures for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU are clear and set out in the treaties.”
Related: Global markets plunge after UK votes to leave EU – live updates
UpdatedUpdated
at 7.19am BST at 8.08am BST
7.05am BST 8.02am BST
07:05 08:02
Here is the scene in Downing Street, where David Cameron is due to make a statement. Here is the clip of Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, saying he could not guarantee that an extra £350m a week would go to the NHS as a result of the UK leaving the EU. He told ITV that that was a promise from the Vote Leave campaign, not from him. He would not have made it, he said.
Waiting for the PM in Downing Street pic.twitter.com/Q35W8DrZuE
And this is from the Daily Mail’s Quentin Letts.
Atmosphere in Downing St like that before a funeral, media mourners arriving puffy-eyed, nodding to friends, steping with exaggerated care.
UpdatedUpdated
at 7.22am BST at 8.04am BST
7.05am BST 7.55am BST
07:05 07:55
Matthew Weaver EU leaders are going to meet in Brussels next week without the UK present to decide their stance for the withdrawal negotiations, Sky’s Faisal Islam reports.
The Labour leave campaigner Kate Hoey has urged the party’s leadership to address the “huge disconnect” it has with its supporters outside London, while insisting Jeremy Corbyn was not to blame the party’s problems. Informal meeting of EU 27 next week without PM in the room to decide common negotiating position vs UK on exit negotiations
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There is this huge disconnect in Labour areas, the further out of London you get from the Labour leadership. A big discussion is going to have happen about what happens to our party if we are ever going to win these people back.
“I actually don’t think Jeremy is responsible for this at all, for the last 27 years he has been voting in the same way as I did, very much against the EU. When he became leader of the party I think he felt he had to keep the party together, but it was very clear that he didn’t want to campaign on this issue.
“There are people in my party who want to get rid of Jeremy whatever he had done. I don’t think this in itself will change the situation within the Labour party about our leader.”
But Hoey said Corbyn should have been more relaxed about Labour MPs campaigning for leave. “I think the Labour party should have had a clearer view that they were quite happy for people to be campaigning on both sides, and I’m disappointed that Jeremy didn’t take that view. Of course he was under huge pressure from the shadow cabinet who are on the whole 100% pro-EU, whereas outside London there is this huge difference which has not been reflected by our party and we are going to have to look at it.”
7.00am BST
07:00
The FT’s Jim Pickard has more from the script that Labour MPs are being told to use this morning. It says that Labour is “far closer to the centre of gravity of the British public than other other political parties”. It also says Jeremy Corbyn is “uniquely placed” to represent the nation’s views because he is a “critical remainer”.
Here is some of the script that Labour MPs have been ordered to quote from on the airwaves today... pic.twitter.com/6gSjlMZgNC
In Labour circles this has attracted some criticism, according to Sky’s Tamara Cohen.
Labour source re Corbyn lines pic.twitter.com/m4J9EWkVp6