As the United Kingdom wakes up to a new week, the full extent of the Brexit hangover is becoming apparent ahead of a flurry of meetings to start negotiating the UK’s exit from the European Union as quickly and as painlessly as possible.
Meanwhile, the opposition Labour Party is seeking to stop an exodus of key leaders ahead of a possible snap election, amid calls for calm from Boris Johnson, one of the main architects of the Leave vote and the potential candidate for the British prime ministership.
Early Monday morning, ahead of European market openings, UK Treasury chief George Osborne held a press conference, saying that Brexit will hurt the British economy and government finances but that he accepts the outcome of the referendum and will work towards a smooth transition.
Labour ructions
On Monday, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is set to announce a new-look shadow cabinet, following the resignations of 10 senior party members from shadow positions — almost half of the group. The main opposition typically assigns its senior MPs to “shadow” roles in a potential cabinet, mirroring the positions held by government ministers.
While his parliamentary colleagues are set to discuss a no confidence motion against Corbyn, the beleaguered leader has stated that he will stand in any future leadership contests.
“Those who want to change Labour’s leadership will have to stand in a democratic election, in which I will be a candidate,” he said.
Critics within his own party have criticized Corbyn’s lukewarm campaigning for the UK to remain within the EU, and suggest the blame for the country’s exit should at least partially fall on his shoulders.
Earlier in the weekend, Corbyn sacked his shadow foreign secretary, Hilary Benn, after he had reportedly contacted MPs concerning potential support for a leadership challenge. At the time of writing, an online petition to retain Corbyn as leader had garnered almost 200,000 signatures.
EU heads meeting Monday
In Berlin on Monday, three leading EU heads of government will huddle — Germany’s Angela Merkel, France’s François Hollande and Italy’s Matteo Renzi.
The three will meet ahead of a major meeting in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday, where Europe’s leaders are scrambling to come together on how to respond to the Brexit vote.
The Brussels gathering will bring together the leaders of all 28 EU nations. David Cameron is not expected to attend much of the session. The world will be looking for guidance on the way forward.
A leading observer of global geopolitics and markets, Ian Bremmer of the Eurasia Group, called the Brexit vote “a tipping point for the transatlantic alliance and the U.S.-led global order.” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is also heading to Brussels for urgent meetings.
Boris Johnson: Time for unity
In his regular Sunday Telegraph column, Leave campaigner and potential future prime minister Boris Johnson sought to reassure Britain that the country remains “a part of Europe, and always will be” following Thursday’s EU referendum.
Writing his first opinion piece in the pro-Leave Telegraph since the so-called “Brexit” poll determined that a majority of voters wished to end the UK’s 42-year membership of the European project, Johnson sought to reassure “remain” voters and the markets.
“We who are part of this narrow majority must do everything we can to reassure the Remainers,” he wrote.
“We must reach out, we must heal, we must build bridges — because it is clear that some have feelings of dismay, and of loss, and confusion.”
Renewed calls for Scotland to secede
Following the seismic vote, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has suggested that the Scottish Parliament could yet veto the decision, the BBC reports.
On Sunday she said that she would “of course” she would ask her party’s members to refuse to give their “legislative consent.” However, it is likely that the UK parliament in Westminster would overrule the decision.
Also on Sunday she said she would initiate talks with Brussels in the coming week about Scotland remaining in the EU.
Earlier she had said it would be “democratically unacceptable” for Scotland to lose its EU membership in the face of an overwhelming Scottish vote to remain.
Sturgeon said the vote had given her government a mandate to begin preparing legislation for another independence vote if the Scottish Parliament decided it was appropriate. Scotland voted 55%-45% to remain in the UK in September 2014, but continued EU membership was a central plank of that campaign.
Johnson, in his Telegraph piece, dismissed Scottish calls for another referendum, writing that he did not “detect any real appetite to have another one soon,” despite Scotland’s clear desire to remain within Europe.
Global economic shockwaves
As George Osbourne, the UK Chancellor, prepared to give a statement early Monday morning in an attempt to reassure the markets, the British pound sank further as investors continue to digest the impact of the UK’s historic vote.
The pound fell more than 2% early Monday against the dollar to below $1.34 as uncertainty swirls over the UK economy. That’s still above the low of around $1.32, its weakest level in decades, that it hit on Friday as results from the referendum were coming in. Asian stock markets on Monday were mixed.
Delivering opening remarks at the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, China, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that the impact of the vote was being felt worldwide and would increase global uncertainty and make it more difficult for the global economy to rebound.
“We need to face up to the challenge, and work together to stabilize the global environment and address root causes of economic problems,” he said.
“Europe is an important partner of China. China will keep preserving and developing both China-EU and China-UK relations. We hope to see a united and stable EU as well as a stable and prosperous UK.”
Brexiteers accused of misleading promises
“Leave” campaigners are facing widespread criticism that much of their campaigning was built on untruths.
For instance, the official Vote Leave campaign claimed the EU was costing the U.K. £350 million ($468 million) a week, “enough to build a brand new, fully staffed … hospital every week.” It continued to make that claim despite being repeatedly admonished by the independent statistics watchdog for misleading voters.
Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party who campaigned for Brexit — but wasn’t part of the Vote Leave group — said implying that money sent to the EU could be spent on the health service in future was a mistake.
“No I can’t (guarantee it), and I would never have made that claim. That was one of the mistakes that I think the Leave campaign made,” he said on British TV.