Britain remains in a widening crisis days after voters chose to leave the European Union. British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced his resignation. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is facing a coup within his own party as more than a dozen members of his shadow cabinet have resigned or been fired. Scotland has announced it will take any steps needed to stay inside the European Union, including possibly holding a second independence referendum. Global stock markets have plummeted. More than $2 trillion was wiped off global equity markets on Friday in the biggest daily loss ever. Earlier today the British pound hit a 31-year low. With his own political fate uncertain, British Finance Minister George Osborne sought to reassure the British people.
George Osborne: “It will not be plain sailing in the days ahead. But let me be clear, you should not underestimate our resolve. We were prepared for the unexpected, and we are equipped for whatever happens. And we are determined that, unlike eight years ago, Britain’s financial system will help our country deal with any shocks and dampen them, not contribute to those shocks or make them worse.”
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is headed to Brussels and London to discuss the political and economic upheaval caused by the Brexit vote. Meanwhile, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the first Muslim woman to serve in the British Cabinet, says the vote to leave the EU has sparked an uptick in racist abuse. We’ll have more on Brexit after headlines.