Voter approval of the Brexit – Britain’s exit from the European Union – led to celebrations for supporters and fear-mongering over the possibility of a global economic meltdown.
Shortly after a vote of 51.9 percent in favor of Brexit and 48.1 percent against it, world financial markets reportedly went into a tailspin. The U.S. economy could also suffer , The Wall Street Journal reported.
Economic instability sparked by the vote could signal the start of another crisis similar to the one in 2008, according to numerous reports.
“The vote instantly creates the biggest global financial shock since the 2008 economic crisis, this time with interest rates around the world already at or near zero, stripping policymakers of the means to fight it,” Reuters news reported.
But those in favor of the Brexit called it a victory for people who are sick of EU’s unbridled immigration and other globalist agendas. For supporters, the Brexit’s approval was a statement by people who are fed up with the lies and rip-offs perpetrated by big government, big banking, and big business.
Following the vote, Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, said the EU is a “doomed project.”
“Dare to dream that the dawn is breaking on an independent United Kingdom,” he said.
#Brexit is a crushing victory for the British people against the political establishment. Get used to it. There are many more to come.
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) June 24, 2016
Paul Joseph Watson, a reporter and editor for Info Wars , called the vote a “crushing victory for the British people against the political establishment.” In another tweet, he said mainstream media was “butt-hurt” over the Brexit victory.
Watson also posted a video that suggested there is evidence of voter fraud. The video appears to show a vote-counter changing a vote. Some voters had complained during the process that they were forced to use pencils at voting booths, he reported.
“In one case, police were even dispatched after a woman offered to lend a pen to other voters to ensure their vote couldn’t be changed,” Watson stated.
The New York Times was among the U.S. mainstream media heralding the advent of a global economic meltdown, using words such as “perilous” and “wild descent.”
“The world map has been redrawn with the rules of commerce across Europe, the largest marketplace on earth. Britain’s vote on Thursday to leave the European Union has set in motion an unprecedented and unpredictable process that threatens turbulence and potential crisis — for Britain, for Europe and for the global economy,” stated the Times.
America’s “paper of record” also suggested Britain’s pull-out from the EU will likely destroy any recovery it made from an economic downturn that has seen Greece and Spain spiral into devastating depressions.
“Europe and its common market, home to 500 million people, have been plunged into turmoil, their prospects difficult to divine,” the Times wrote.
Prime Minister David Cameron had predicted dire consequences if the vote went through, according to Reuters. President Barack Obama had also suggested Britain should stay in the EU.
Following the vote, a Cameron aide reportedly told media, “We’re in uncharted territory… Everyone’s just really tired. They haven’t slept.”
BBC News later reported that Cameron now plans to step down in October.
Some took to Twitter, as if to deny the vote or plead that it could somehow be reversed.
Actress Lindsay Lohan helped lead the way, pleading for Britain to stay in the EU.
“Please stay,” she wrote in one of her tweets. In another, she begged for open access for a better life for children that are refugees.
In a moment of comic relief, the Telegraph questioned whether Lohan’s live reporting of the referendum was really her. The Telegraph called it “ Freaky Friday ,” playing on the name of a movie Lohan had starred in.
Despite the victory, the battle is far from over.
Brexit will not mean Britain’s instant exit from the European Union. Reuters predicts the vote will be followed by up to two years of legal wrangling.
[Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images]