David Cameron resigns declaring he wants a new prime minister in place by October

PRIME minister David Cameron has announced that he will stand down later this year after losing yesterday's referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union (EU) which has made his position untenable.

 

At the declaration of the results this morning, 52% of the population voted to leave the EU with 17,410,742 votes with 16, 141,241 who voted to stay within the community on a high turnout of 72%. While England voted overwhelmingly to leave the community, Scotland and Northern Ireland wanted to remain within it.

 

Following the shock result, the pound crashed to the lowest level since 1985 as sterling fell below $1.35 against the US dollar. Financial markets have been very jittery with the FTSE 100 expected to drop by as much as 8.8% or by some 560 points later today, which would be the third worst in Britain's history.

 

Sensing that his position was now untenable, Mr Cameron said he would stand down so a new prime minister could be elected to lead Britain's negotiations out of the EU. He added that he expects the new leader to be in place in time for the Conservative Party's next annual conference in October.

 

Mr Cameron said: "The British people have voted to leave the EU and their will must be respected. The will of the British people is an instruction that must be delivered and there can be no doubt about the result.

 

"Across the world people have been watching the choice that Britain has made, which will require strong, determined and committed leadership. I am very proud to have been Prime Minister of this country for six years and have held nothing back. 

 

"The British people have made a very clear decision and I think the country requires fresh leadership as I do not think I can be the captain to take the country to its next destination. In my view I think we should have a new prime minister in place by the start of the Conservative conference in October."