UK seeks to calm Brexit fears as markets plunge

LONDON

Britain’s finance minister on Monday tried to play down economic fears over a shock vote to leave the EU and said the country would not be rushed to the exit door, as Germany and the United States also appealed for calm.

Mr George Osborne said Britain’s economy was “as strong as could be” and that the country was “open for business” after Thursday’s seismic referendum.

“I want to reassure the British people, and the global community, that Britain is ready to confront what the future holds for us from a position of strength,” he said in his first public comments since the vote.

Despite his words, stocks in London fell by over 2 per cent and the pound crumbled to another three-decade low against the dollar. Shares in banks, airlines and property companies were particularly hard hit as investors singled out those three sectors as being the most vulnerable.

Underscoring the sense of uncertainty, a new survey Monday showed that one fifth of British business leaders are considering moving operations abroad and that one in four planned to freeze recruitment.

Mr Osborne also stressed that only Britain could trigger Article 50, the section of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty that sets out a two-year timeframe for leaving.

INTENTION TO RESIGN

“In my judgement, we should only do that when there is a clear view about what new arrangement we are seeking with our European neighbours,” he said. Prime Minister David Cameron held a cabinet meeting to set up a new government unit to embark on the task of ending Britain’s 43-year membership, which would make it the first country ever to leave the club.

But Mr Cameron, who announced his intention to resign after the results were known on Friday, has said he wants his successor to begin actual Brexit negotiations.

European leaders have instead called for Britain to hurry up and end a a damaging wave of uncertainty sweeping Europe.
The Conservative Party on Monday recommended that his replacement as party chief and prime minister be installed by September 2 at the latest, with nominations for the post formally closing on Thursday.
Top Brexit campaigner and ex-mayor of London Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Theresa May, who wanted Britain to stay in the European Union but is seen as a unifying candidate, are seen as the favourites.
In his regular column for the Daily Telegraph, Johnson sought to strike a conciliatory tone. “I cannot stress too much that Britain is part of Europe, and always will be,” he said.