We'll have to see about the economic consequences - which will depend on what really happens in the end. Odds are, Britain will go from being inside the EU with one foot out the door, to outside the EU with one foot inside the door, and a massive amount of collateral damage will have been done both within and outside the UK for remarkably little real difference on the points the referendum was supposed to be about.
But the political fallout has been pretty dramatic already, with both of the UK's major parties well on the way to tearing themselves apart, Scotland heading for the exit and Northern Ireland becoming a potential timebomb.
Mind you, considering that a large part of British euroscepticism never had all that much to do with the European Union in the first place, it would perhaps not be such a bad thing if the referendum impacts the British political system and major parties more than it does Europe or Britain's status in Europe. The real message here is, to quote some Tea Party activists from a few years back, 'Don't tread on me!'. And it's the London establishment that they're saying that to, more than the EU.
i find it amazing that David Cameron managed to convince Scotland to stay in the UK, but not England in the EU. i have to wonder how he managed to become PM since it seems like he's spent the majority of his political capital begging people to support something he wants.
"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman
