Financial panic, petitions, insults and humour mark Brexit vote's immediate aftermath

As the dust begins to settle following Britain's vote to leave the European Union, the world is starting to adjust to a new and uncertain political and economic reality.

Immediate reactions to the result from within the United Kingdom were, unsurprisingly, mixed. Many held rosy visions of a positive future. One unnamed British voter in Birmingham summed up this vision in his comments to the national press. "We've got our democracy back and we can build an absolutely brilliant future for ourselves, it's going to be democracy not bureaucracy."

But as the reality of an uncertain future outside Europe dawned upon the British electorate, some “Leave” voters took to Twitter to express regret at their choice. In a segment during the BBC's rolling coverage of events, one man, introduced as Adam, said: 'I'm a bit shocked to be honest. I didn't think that was going to happen. 'I didn't think my vote was going to matter too much because I thought we were just going to remain.' Needless to say, Adam was mercilessly ridiculed on the internet.

So mortified were the 48% of voters who wished to remain in the European Union by the Leave result that a parliamentary petition calling for a second referendum has been set up.

‘We the undersigned call upon HM Government to implement a rule that if the remain or leave vote is less than 60% based on a turnout less than 75% there should be another referendum,’ the petition, filed this morning, reads.

More entertaining was the humorous reaction to Brexit. Reporting a 250% increase in Google searches for “what happens if we leave the EU”, hours after the polls had closed, website the Verve placed the blame for Brexit firmly at the feet of outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron, who it said, had sleepwalked off “a cliff like a particularly posh Mr. Magoo.”

"Obviously, he failed, compounding his failure by presenting the bumbling Boris Johnson — a claimant for Cameron's Prime Ministerial position — as some kind of slick political genius, rather than what he is: a man who looks like a haunted brush and who once got stuck on a zipline. Johnson was joined by Nigel Farage, the only British person to ever look uncomfortable holding a pint of beer, and a handful of a handful of British entrepreneurs.”

After YouGov surveys indicated that the older demographic had voted for leaving, while younger people had overwhelmingly voted to stay, the reaction was one of indignation. The figures, published after polls closed on Thursday night, suggested that 75% of 18-24 year olds had voted to remain in the EU, while 53% of 50-64 year olds and 59% of people over 65 voted to leave. The younger segment's reaction was one of indignation. “Older generations voted for a future the younger generation didn't want. I am actually shocked,” wrote one Twitter user. “Waking up to the #EURefResults and realising the older generation have just ruined our future,” wrote another, one of thousands of similar tweets.

Markets have also reacted badly to the Brexit vote, with $2 trillion being wiped off world markets and the British pound suffering its biggest one-day selloff in recent history, as the shock news sparked panic in the markets. 

The global political reaction to the “Leave” vote victory have been, for the larger part, has also been one of profound disappointment. Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has expressed regret at seeing the UK leave, but sait it was clear that the EU has to face up to its own internal problems. “Now is the time for more reflection, not more Europe.”

Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, Mark Rutte, holder of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission said the process of leaving must be swift. "Any delay would unnecessarily prolong uncertainty. We have rules to deal with this in an orderly way," they said in a statement.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also voiced her regret at the decision to leave the European Union, calling it a "blow" to Europe. "We take note of the British people's decision with regret. There is no doubt that this is a blow to Europe and to the European unification process," she said. She warned EU member states against drawing hasty conclusions about Britain's decision to quit the bloc, however, saying that would risk causing further splits in Europe.

From the United States, president Obama stood by his earlier warning that Britain would move to the back of the queue when it comes to trade deals, although the “special relationship” between the two nations would endure.

In a characteristic gaffe, perpetually incorrect presidential hopeful Donald Trump arrived in Scotland on Friday to officially open his new Trump Turnberry golf resort. He later tweeted that people in Scotland were “going wild” following the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union, unaware of the fact that the overwhelming majority of Scots had voted to remain in the union.

This did not go down well with the locals. “Scotland voted overwhelmingly to Remain. But what are facts to you, you bloviating flesh bag,” wrote one indignant Scottish voter in a tweet to Trump's official Twitter account.