Duba: The United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union in a historic referendum that has already started to be felt across the global economy.
Stocks, currencies and oil all fell following the confirmation early on Friday morning that that majority of British voters wanted out of the EU.
British expats living in the UAE have reacted to the news, with some telling Gulf News they were disappointed in the result.
Murray Brown, a British expat working in the finance sector in Dubai, told Gulf News he feared the result would damage the UK economy.
“It leaves the UK itself very divided and there will be a lot of upset people,” said Brown, who had hoped his country would have voted to stay in the EU.
The true impact of the vote is still unclear. It will take at least two years for the UK to exit and only after Prime Minister David Cameron invokes Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon so that the process can begin.
One of many on a long list of questions now lingering is whether the UK retain access to the EU single market of 500 million consumers and which accounts for nearly half of all British exports.
Brown said he hoped the UK would still be able to access the single market.
The pound fell to a 31-year low early Friday morning as the news came in that the majority of voters had gone with the “leave” campaign. At one point it was down 10 per cent against the dollar and 7 per cent against the euro.
Victoria Atkins, a British surveyor living in Dubai, told Gulf News she was “very disappointed” in the result and was concerned how the vote would impact the strength of the pound.
“On the flip side,” she said, “as an expat, my dirhams are worth more,” said Atkins, who voted “remain.”
Brown said he didn’t believe the vote would have “too much impact for British expats in Dubai” but that they “should be able to capitalise on the weakness of the pound if transferring savings home.”
