There has been a disaster – and the results cannot be undone

Britain has voted to leave the European Union, with 52% voting Leave and 48% voting Remain.

England (bar London) and Wales voted strongly to leave, while London, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain. UKIP leader Nigel Farage has called it “Independence Day” but Remain camp leaders have correctly described it as a “a catrastrophe”.

The pound has already fallen to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985 as markets reacted to the results.

The first message that came into my phone this morning turned out to be exactly what I was thinking: “I can’t believe it. UK Brexit voters are like Maltese Laburisti.”

Yes, the same mentality and attitude: insular, with something a lot worse on top. What a nightmare. The process of hell begins. Both David Cameron and Nigel Farage should be shot: the one for treating something so serious as a game, and the other for promising a referendum on membership to, ultimately, save his own political neck. Now he has not only lost his neck, but damned Britain’s future too and caused untold problems for the other member states.

Those who voted to leave think that the way ahead will mean greater autonomy and more power, but what will happen in the medium to long term is that Britain gets shunted to the margins, while the short term will mean great economic upheaval that will in turn cause massive social discontent.

It’s odd how the word on the street is always so telling, even though the people one meets cannot possibly be representative. But everybody British I have met since the referendum was announced has said to me that they are going to vote to leave.