United Kingdom Votes to Leave European Union

I read somewhere that British Prime Minister David Cameron didn't need to schedule yesterday's vote for his country to decide whether or not to remain a member of the European Union but did so thinking that he would safely win the referendum.  Was he ever wrong: the vote, at a 72% turnout rate, went 52-48% for leaving the E.U.  Other than London, urbanized areas along the Thames, and the western area around Liverpool, the electorate in England and Wales opted for exit.  But Scotland, which not too long ago voted to reject independence and instead remain in the United Kingdom, overwhelmingly voted to remain in the European Union...as did Northern Ireland and Gibraltar...

Cameron today announced his resignation and will leave office sometime this fall.  President Obama had gone over there and urged Britons to vote to stay in the European Union...I wonder whether that had a backlash effect.  I do know that there is much concern there about terrorism and open borders with Europe...and a feeling that they had lost control over much of their own country.  That may or may not be more a matter of perception than reality, but it seemed that many of the votes for exiting the E.U. were anti-Cameron, anti-Conservative Party protest votes.  Also, the right wing is rising throughout Europe, and there is much rhetoric going around promoting nationalism and security.  So it shouldn't have come as any surprise that Donald Trump, while promoting the opening of a new golf course of his in Scotland, would quickly come out in favor of Britain's exit...claiming that they were taking their country back.  The irony of this vote, however, is that Scotland, and possibly even Northern Ireland, may well hold another independence referendum...and the results this time around are almost certain to be different.  And Spain will probably renew their pressure to regain control over Gibraltar.  So "independence" may end up leading to "disintegration" as far as the United Kingdom is concerned...

I don't live over there like the good folks who voted their convictions and hopes about their country's future, so I therefore have not been sharing their experiences as to what has been going on for the last few years.  If there is a big problem concerning how the European Union governs and its relationships among member nations, then maybe this action on the part of the U.K. will give it more of a sense of accountability.  I don't see this happening, though: instead, the media seems to be putting out the idea that it's all because right-wing extremist parties are dramatically rising in Europe.  I suspect there's a bit more to the problem than that, although larger segments of the population there are suffering fears about terrorism and unrestrained immigration from the Middle East, doubtless leading them straight into the arms of these nationalist parties and their political agenda...