Cameron quits, record plunge for FTSE

LIVE COVERAGE:

7.30pm: British Prime Minister David Cameron has resigned, paying the price for his bungled referendum. 

As he spoke, the markets were opening. The FTSE 250 fell 11.4% within minutes — its worst-ever opening — before recovering to -4.74% within the first trading hour. The pound has also begun to regain ground after it's earlier free-fall.

Standing outside No. 10 Downing St, Mr Cameron said, "I will do everything I can as Prime Minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months. But I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination.

"This is not a decision I have taken lightly. But I do believe it’s in the national interest to have a period of stability and then the new leadership required.

"There is no need for a precise timetable today. But in my view we should aim to have a new prime minister by the start of the Conservative Party conference in October."

It will now fall on a new British leader to trigger Article 50 of the EU's founding treaty and begin the two-year formal process of leaving the EU.

Mr Cameron sees this process beginning after a new PM is place.

EU president Martin Schulz says he is taking legal advice about speeding up the process.

6.00pm UK Electoral Office declares official result with Leave vote topping 17 million for a 51.8% majority. The final tally with all 382 districts counted: Leave 17,410,742 Remain 16,141,241. The turnout was 72.1%.

5.30pm The Leave vote rises above 17 million as majority reaches 51.8% with four districts yet to confirm their result. Latest tally Leave 17,061,744 Remain 15,864,555.

5.00pm It's official. The Leave vote has passed the required majority to pull the UK out of the European Union. The latest tally, with only eight districts yet to declare is 16,835,512 for Leave to 15,692,093.

4.45pm It's nearly all over with just 20 district to complete their voting. The Leave vote has widened its lead to 51.8%. 

4.00pm Major TV networks BBC and ITV are calling a win for Leave, which needs less than 2.5 million votes to reach the required majority. The Australian sharemarket has plunged 3.4%, the NZX/S&P 50 Index is down 1%, and the British pound has dropped to its weakest in 30 years. 

The BBC is forecasting a 52% to 48% result to leave the European Union after 43 years. London and Scotland voted strongly to stay in the EU but the Remain vote has been undermined by poor results in the north of England. Voters in Wales and the English shires also backed Brexit in large numbers.

The referendum turnout was higher than at last year's general election. UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who has campaigned for 20 years to exit the EU, told supporters "this will be a victory for ordinary people, for decent people." The latest tally with 53 districts yet to be decided: Leave 14,356,533 versus Remain 13,409,611.

3.30pm Counting continues in the middle of the British night with the Leave vote continuing to widen its lead over Remain with 101 districts yet to declare and more than two-thirds counted. Leave has hit 11,737,880 (51.6%) to Remain's 10,989,699.

After earlier saying he sensed Britons had voted to stay in the EU, UKIP leader Nigel Farage says he now thinks his side will win. “We fought against lies, corruption and deceit and today honesty, decency, and belief in the nation I think now is going to win,” he says.

3.00pm Leave is still holding its narrow lead over Remain, with a 51.2% majority but with 198 districts still yet to declare a result. Most of these are in London and southern England, areas expected to deliver a strong vote for Remain. Total tallies: Leave 7,328,856 (51.2%) to Remain's 6,982525 (48.8%). 

2.30pm Leave has regained the lead as the referendum remains a closely fought race. Leave has moved into the lead, with 208 districts yet to declare. The race is now London and Scotland versus the northern half of England plus Wales, with North Ireland evenly balanced. Latest tally: Leave 6,820,749 (51%) versus Remain 6,483,284 (49%).

2.00pm A swag of southern and central Scottish declared districts has turned the referendum around with Remain again leading Leave in the popular vote. Southern England results are still scarce, as 284 districts out of 382 have yet to be declared. The running tally is now 3,564,427 for Leave and 3,568,498 for Remain.

1.30pm Brexit is gaining traction with Leave votes passing 1.5 million in the running tally. The strongest support has come from England's heartland and northern districts, Wales and  a number of Northern Ireland districts. While the margin is nearly 150,000 votes to Leave, declared results are scarce in southern England. Scotland's declared disticts have overwhelmingly voted Remain but the Leave tally is 250,000 against Remain's 405,000. Total: Leave 1,567,258 Remain 1,423,872.

12.45pm Two North Ireland districts, North Antrim and Lagan Valley, have joined the Leave camp in the latest declared results. Hartleppol has also voted a majority of Leave. The running total still favours Leave by 529,701 to 508,632.

12.30pm BBC polling expert Professor John Curtice says the turnout for the UK as a whole is going to be around 72%. "This will be the first time that turnout has been above 70% for the first time in a UK-wide contest since 1997," he says. "As a result we are now estimating that if one side wins 16,410,000 votes it will win the Referendum."

Kettering and South Tyneside in northeast England are the latest declared districts with a majority for Leave but two Scottish districts, including the Shetland Islands, have  favoured Remain, as has another district in Northern Ireland. Latest count: Remain: 460,712 votes; Leave 473,688 votes.

As the count remains close, the pound has recovered lost ground in financial markets.

12 noon The northeast of England has come out more strongly than expected for Leave with Crawley tipped to follow Sunderland. But two other declared districts in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland backed Remain, along with the Isles of Scilly. The heavy Leave vote in Sunderland puts Leave slightly ahead of Remain in overall votes for the five declared districts. Latest count: Remain: 46.9% 227,726 votes; Leave 53.1% 257,816 votes.

11.30am Early results from England's northern districts delivering strong support for Leave have sent the pound tumbling on financial markets. Newcastle voted Remain by a narrow margin when a much larger one was expected. Orkney in Scotland has also voted Remain. But Sunderland has backed Leave on a wider than expected margin on a 65% turnout.

10.45am The UK territory of Gibraltar has overwhelmingly voted 96% in favour of Remain. It comprised 19,322 votes to 823. Gibraltar is the first of 382 electorate districts that will decide the referendum. 

BBC presenter David Dimbleby says the Gibraltar result is "no surprise" as it was widely expected to back Remain.

Commenting on the result, UKIP's Douglas Carswell say Gibraltar has its "own distinct perspective," which must be respected. But he says he hopes the vote in his area "undoes that result."

Earlier, UKIP leader Nigel Farage virtually conceded defeat, telling an interviewer his opinion was based on "what I know from some of my friends in the financial markets who have done some big polling."

10.15am A new poll, released by YouGov after official voting closed, puts Remain at 52% and Leave at 48%, while an Ipsos Mori poll gives Remain a 54-46 lead. 

9.15am Voting booths have closed and within the hour counting offices in 382 electorates will begin to release their own estimates of turnout. The first results are expected from the northern city of Sunderland and from the London district of Wandsworth at around 11.30am (NZ time).

But it will take another two to four hours before the counting is completed and the Electoral Commission isn't expected to declare the result until late this afternoon NZ time (6-8pm).

About 46.5 million voters are eligible and bad weather in many parts of Britain, including flooding, could affect the turnout.

Earlier report:
Financial markets are positioned for a UK decision to remain in the European Union.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index of leading shares jumped 1.5% overnight as betting markets and a new poll appeared to show a victory for Remain.

Stocks on Wall Street also rose, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average advancing 0.9%.

The latest poll of UK voter intentions, by Ipsos Mori for London's Evening Standard, found that among those most likely to vote and who say the result is important to them 52% would vote to stay against 48% who said they would vote to leave.

However, underscoring the tightness of the race, 12% of respondents said they might change their minds before stepping into the polling booth, Ipsos said. The poll was carried out on June 21-22.

No exit polls to indicate result
Unlike in a general election, there will be no exit polls when voting stations close to give an early indication of the result. Because referendums are rarely held across the entire UK there is insufficient data to produce an exit poll within a reliable margin of error.

Exit polls are based on comparisons with votes in the same booths at the previous vote. This is only the third referendum in UK history, including a 1975 vote to join the EU’s predecessor, the Common Market.

Voters went to the polls to answer a simple question – “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?” – with complex ramifications.

A vote by Britain to exit the EU, or “Brexit,” would force the dissolution of a relationship that stretches back more than four decades.

After months of campaigning, most polls show a close race between the pro-Brexit camp and its opponents who want to remain in the 28-nation bloc.

The battle has split the country, largely pitting voters in the pro-Brexit camp who have focused on UK sovereignty and worry about rising immigration against a pro-EU side that feels tied to Europe and is fearful of the economic results of a divorce.

A UK law prohibits news organisations from reporting how people voted before polls close at 10pm local time (9am NZ time).

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