The aftermath of the 2016 referendum

After the results of the referendum came out, there were both immediate reactions and important political changes in the country.

Initially, there were voices in the UK that contested the results. For example, the referendum was criticised for not allowing people that were aged between 16 and 18 to vote, whereas they had been allowed to vote in the Scottish independence referendum. Those who used this criticism argued that the effects of the referendum will have a life-long impact on the lives of young people, compared to the shorter impact it will have on the lives of older people.

Another immediate reaction was the creation of a petition to organise a second referendum in case the percentage of wining votes was not at least 60% on a 75% turnout. Although the petition gathered thousands of signatures, no new referendum was organised.

The day after the referendum, PM David Cameron announced his resignation by October, because the Leave campaign won. As a supporter of the Remain campaign, he considered the referendum a political defeat. After only three weeks,...