Breaking Brexit: The UK votes to leave the EU
Voters in the U.K. have decided to leave the European Union.
The result won't immediately eject the U.K. from the EU; there's still a lot of paperwork left before that happens. But it does represent a massive shakeup within the U.K. and around the world.
Voters were asked if they wanted to leave or remain inside the EU. "Leave" campaigners argued exiting the bloc would give the U.K. more autonomy to set its own laws, while "remain" supporters warned leaving would trigger an economic and political catastrophe.
Leave campaigners argued EU membership cost the U.K. too much money and autonomy and delivered too little. The campaign managed to close a sizable gap with the remain camp in the polls, which had the two sides neck-and-neck on voting day.
Now that the U.K. has voted for the door, the country has two years to negotiate the terms of its departure with other EU nations. Those discussions will probably involve renegotiating trade, military and immigration relationships between the U.K. and Europe.
