Petition to hold 2nd Brexit vote gaining steam in UK

The unprecedented nature of the UK’s decisive referendum to leave the European Union means that British universities could experience sever shortfalls in staffing and research funding.

The shock outcome of Thursday’s historic referendum could have a knock-on effect on other European Union members battling hostility to Brussels and possibly lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom after Scotland raised the prospect of another independence vote.

The talks can be extended by mutual agreement, if need be, to allow the hugely complex process of unpicking the reams of legislation joining Britain and the EU.

“We take this very seriously and are determined to make the European Union work better for all our citizens”, the statement said.

The victorious “leave” campaigners have said there’s no rush to trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, which will begin a two-year exit process to renegotiate trade, business and political links between the United Kingdom and what will become a 27-nation bloc.

The uncompromising stance came after Prime Minister David Cameron said he would resign and leave the negotiations on Britain’s departure from the 28-nation club to a successor who will be named by October.

However, Jean Claude Juncker said it does not make any sense to wait until October to negotiate the terms of the UK’s departure.

“I would like it immediately”, he said.

“Leave” campaigners hailed the result as a victory for British democracy against the bureaucratic behemoth of the EU.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier hosted his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault, the Netherlands’ Bert Koenders, Italy’s Paolo Gentiloni, Belgium’s Didier Reynders and Luxemburg’s Jean Asselborn for the six-way talks on “current European political issues”, the German foreign ministry said. “I regard that as democratically unacceptable”, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told reporters. “But after the British decision, we mustn’t lapse into depression and inactivity”.

Treasury chief George Osborne has sought to calm nerves in the markets, as investors worry about the consequences of Britain leaving the European Union. The process calls for Conservative lawmakers to winnow candidates down to two choices who will then be voted on in a postal ballot of party members.

Corbyn, whose Labour Party backed a vote to stay in the bloc, said the areas that voted most strongly to leave are “communities that have effectively been abandoned” by economic change and the austerity policies of Britain’s Conservative government.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel struck a conciliatory note, saying it “shouldn’t take forever” for Britain to deliver its formal notification of leaving. “They must be conducted properly”, Merkel said at a news conference in Potsdam, outside Berlin. This includes the Bank of England and the Central European Bank shoring up financial markets to prevent a recession, European leaders queueing up meetings to deter further splits from the EU, and the United Kingdom negotiating the new terms for free trade deals with over 50 countries. He tweeted: “David Cameron was quite right”.

Sung Won Sohn, an economist at Cal State Channel Islands, said an expected interest rate hike this year by the Federal Reserve “is no longer on the table” due to the stronger value of the dollar triggered by the British vote and expectations that reduced demand caused by slower growth in Britain and Europe would hurt the USA economy.

The Federal Reserve said it was “carefully monitoring developments in global financial markets” and was prepared to provide dollars to other foreign central banks to increase liquidity. The organizers hope the rally will show people’s extreme disappointment about the referendum that has “split [Britain] into two”.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average registered its largest single-day point fall since 2011, losing 610 points.

“It is clear that the broader markets went into this critical vote with too much comfort”, echoed George Goncalves of Nomura Securities.

The president said that the two countries would stay close to ensure “economic growth and financial stability”.

Before heading in to the meeting, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the European Union would weather the shock of the British vote to leave.

Meanwhile, over 1 million people have signed a petition on the UK Parliament website demanding a second referendum.