So, what happens now?

Well, to be honest, we don’t know. This is absolutely unprecedented. This is as if

Texas actually managed to secede from the United States.

So far, there have been several immediate effects. First, within hours of the vote,

the UK’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, announced his resignation.

Cameron supported the push to stay part of the EU, while his likely replacement, Conservative

former London Mayor, Boris Johnson, pushed to leave, calling Brexit a “glorious opportunity”.

But so far, things have been far from glorious. Since the vote, the British pound has collapsed

in value, dropping to levels unseen in the last thirty years, and threatening to drop

below the dollar, which has apparently never happened before. The Euro, too saw a steep,

but less severe drop. When the London Stock Exchange opened the morning after the vote,

the top 100 companies had collectively dropped more than 500 points, the largest fall since

the 2008 economic crisis. And despite the dollar rising in response, the Dow Jones stock

market index dropped more than 600 points, its worst day in five years.

And although the stocks have slightly recovered following the initial panic, the future of

the UK’s economy does not look bright. London is the most important financial center in

Europe, and financial markets have accounted for 10% of the UK’s GDP. But by leaving

the EU, the UK will no longer be party to the EU’s financial regulations, making it

impossible to rely on for financial investment until new regulations are established.

Many economists say that this will significantly damage the UK and EU economies. In one scenario

proposed by the International Monetary Fund, by 2017 Britain will fall into a recession,

and unemployment could hit 7% by the following year, coupled with severe inflation. Although,

as a result of the pound being cheaper, trade will likely rise, although that’s not necessarily

worth it for UK residents.

And while we’ve talked about other countries following the UK’s example of leaving the

EU, one unexpected result from the referendum showed that the majority of Scotland voted

to stay, as opposed to the rest of the UK. This is because when Scotland held their own

vote to leave the UK back in 2014, many agreed to stay under the assumption that the UK would

remain part of the EU. Now that that’s no longer the case, it would be unfathomable

for Scotland not to hold a second referendum, and it’s likely they’d finally gain their

independence. Similarly, UK controlled Northern Ireland is already discussing unification

with the rest of Ireland, nearly a century after their division.

So, the question is, how did this all happen? Why would the UK vote for something with such

negative consequences, that nearly all polls showed wouldn’t happen? In a nutshell, age.

 75% of 18- to 24-year-olds voted to stay, compared to less than 40% of those over 65.

Some have referred to the results as the older generation voting for a future that the younger

generation doesn’t want. Some suggest that older voters were swayed by arguments that

there would be money available for their health care, and that it would help restrict immigration.

Meanwhile, many youth voters hoped to stay and reap the same benefits as their parents,

such as free travel throughout Europe and greater educational and economic opportunity.

We spoke with several people living in the United Kingdom to get their take on the situation.

Tom, 24, London it’s a sense of shock, but also recognizing

that the country is extremely divided.

Liam, 24, Manchester To be honest I’m a might heartbroken about

it all. It feels like a bit of my national identity has been taken away from me when

I voted against it.

Shini Somara, Ph.D Science and Technology reporter, BBC, London

I think that now that we're out of the EU it doesn't stop continuing to be a very united

kingdom.

Geraldine Jowett, Ph.D candidate, UK 3:08 The overwhelming consensus I always have

felt was certain of betrayal from older generations for having voted this way when they probably

won’t have to live with the repercussions in the same way that we will.3:23

Neil Mitra, business owner, Remain, London This is really going to be a choppy couple

of years rough couple of years.

Although the referendum has passed, it is not an immediate process. The vote triggers

Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, and could take as long as two years to actually

break away. Already, UK residents are calling for a second referendum. But the immediate

effects are devastating, and there is no question that both the United Kingdom and the European

Union will be changed forever.