All because of immigration. In other words, the UK didn’t want the world to do to it what it did to the world for centuries.

THE INDEPENDENT

British politics has been plunged into turmoil after the country voted to sever its 44-year membership of the EU triggering the resignation of the Prime Minister and years of economic and political uncertainty.

David Cameron announced he would leave Downing Street within months saying the country would need “fresh leadership” to negotiate its exit from the European Union.

His decision fires the starting gun on a Tory Party leadership contest with Boris Johnson and the Home Secretary Theresa May as the early front runners to succeed him.

In Scotland, which voted to remain in the EU, the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it was “democratically unacceptable” that Scotland would be taken out of the EU “against its will” and says she will take “all possible steps and explore all options” to secure its continuing place in the union.

She said the option of a second independence referendum “must be on the table and it is on the table”.

Earlier, Boris Johnson – who many see as the most candidate to be the next Prime Minister  –  said Mr Cameron was a “brave and principled man”.

Saying he was sad at the departure, Mr Johnson said Brexit gave the UK a “glorious opportunity” for a brighter future, and insisted that Britain would remain “a greater European power” outside the future Union of 27 nations

And in the Labour Party, a motion of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership has been tabled for next week.

Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey reportedly submitted the motion against their leader, who has been criticised for failing to sway Labour voters in favour of Remain.

One prominent backbench MP who believes that Corbyn should resign told The Independent: “I’m going to say so at the PLP (Parliamentary Labour Party). No doubt it will leak after the meeting.

“I don’t think that Jeremy Corbyn is the one most to blame for this. I’m absolutely furious with the Boris Johnsons who lied, and lied and lied – and people believed that eight million Turks were going to come here, they believed there would be £350 million for the NHS.

More than £100 billion was wiped off the FTSE 100 as the index fell more than 7%, while the pound also crashed 8% against the US dollar.

At one stage the pound fell to it lowest level against the dollar in recorded history in the wake of the unexpected vote while stock markets across Europe took a battering from worried investors.

Mr Cameron and the Governor of the Bank of England attempted to calm nerves insisting that they had been engaged in “extensive contingency planning” and would “not hesitate to take any additional measures” to ensure market stability.

Despite polls last night suggesting that Britain was poised to vote for remain it soon became clear when counting got underway that a political earthquake was unfolding.

Middle England joined forces with the country’s industrial heartlands of the North-east and North-west to comprehensively reject warnings of economic Armageddon and vote to leave.