Kerry called the vote "a decision that the United States had hoped would go the other way," but also said that leaders needed to carry out the will of the voters. The British pound continued to lose value (FT) while the investment bank Goldman Sachs predicted a recession (Reuters) in the United Kingdom and Moody's cut the country's credit rating outlook to negative (BBC). Meanwhile, the Labour party faces an upheaval following a wave of resignations (BBC) by shadow cabinet members protesting Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.
ANALYSIS
"The
historic accomplishment of European integration launched in the wake of the
second world war, which brought with it unprecedented stability and prosperity,
is at risk. The Brexit vote comes in a context in which Europe
is already reeling from low economic
growth, Russian aggression in Ukraine, and an influx of refugees. Making
matters worse is the likelihood that EU officials are more likely to threaten
other countries not to follow the UK's lead than they are to address the EU’s
flaws that in part fuelled the vote," writes CFR President Richard N.
Haass for the Financial Times.
"Market
analysts predict a sharp fall in UK growth over the next year, on the order of
1-2 percent lower, with some predicting an outright recession. At the same
time, the rating agencies have signaled that they are likely to downgrade the
UK. Uncertainty will be felt on investment most importantly, as well as
consumer sentiment. Even if you are optimistic about the long-run future of the
British economy outside the EU, the
cyclical effects appear likely to be significant. The shock will
drag European growth lower, adding to political strains on the union,"
writes CFR's Robert Kahn in this Macro and Markets blog post.
"The largest
consequences will be for Europe — both for the reality and the idea. Britain’s
vote will
encourage populists elsewhere: Already,
Euroskeptics in Sweden, France and the Netherlands have demanded a copycat
referendum. Spain’s neo-Marxist far left is expected to win a quarter of the
vote in Sunday’s election. Polls suggest that French voters are more skeptical
of the E.U. even than British ones, a sentiment that will assist the far-right
populist, Marine Le Pen, in next year’s presidential contest. Populist
governments are already in power in Greece, Hungary and Poland," writes
CFR's Sebastian Mallaby for the Washington Post. Published on Council on Foreign
Relations
