LONDON — British voters have defied the will of their leaders, foreign allies and much of the political establishment by opting to rupture this country’s primary connection to Europe in a stunning result that will radiate economic and political uncertainty across the globe.
The voters’ decision to jettison Britain’s membership in the European Union was expected to jolt markets worldwide on Friday and unsettle Western capitals. By the time the BBC had called the result at dawn in London on Friday, the pound had already plummeted to its lowest level against the dollar in decades.
The vote is perhaps the most dramatic to date in a wave of populist and nationalist uprisings occurring on both sides of the Atlantic that are overturning traditional notions of what is politically possible.
The vote will have a profound effect on the E.U., which will lose a major military and diplomatic power. “This looks to be a sad day for Europe and for Britain,” said Germany’s foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier
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