Brexit live: The referendum night that changed Britain - as it happened 10 years ago

Brexit live: The referendum night that changed Britain - as it happened 10 years ago Relive the EU referendum night 10 years ago – from the moment the polls closed to the dawning realisation that the Leave campaign had won - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Welcome to The Independent’s EU referendum results night blog… 10 years on. To mark a decade since the Brexit vote, this special page replays the events of the referendum night of 23 June 2016 in “real time”, as if it were a breaking news story today. Everyone remembers where they were the night that David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage shaped the Brexit vote that changed Britain. We are campaigning to rebuild Britain's relationship with Europe. Join us here From the moment polls closed at 10pm on 23 June 2016 to the official declaration confirming Britain’s Leave vote at 7.40am the next morning and the reaction that followed, we will bring you every twist as it happened. Join us as early confidence in a Remain victory gives way to one of the most unexpected election results in modern British political history – a 52 per cent vote to Leave the European Union. This live event is part of The Independent’s new campaign, Europe: The Way Back, exploring how Britain can rebuild its relationship with Europe. Now read on – and experience Brexit night as it unfolded a decade ago... I cried Independent reader The Horseman recalls an encounter with a Polish man on referendum night On the day of the referendum it rained incessantly in London. I’d been working late and was forced to take the Tube to Rayners Lane because my branch of the Metropolitan line had flooded and wasn’t running. I walked home from Rayners Lane, a distance of about five miles. Along the way I met a similarly drenched and lost Polish man who had just moved to the UK and, I discovered, was living close to where I did. Due to the public transport failures he was completely lost, so I walked with him to the end of his street. The exit polls seemed initially to be showing a very slight lead for Remain, so as we separated I told him that I thought everything was going to be OK – Brexit wasn’t going to happen. Shattered after a long day and an unnecessarily long walk, I went to bed. I woke at 6am to hear James Naughtie saying: “Nothing has changed, but everything has changed, Britain has voted to leave the EU.” And then, as I recall, I cried. Brexpelliarmus! 5.07am In reply to a distressed Harry Potter fan asking her to “do something” about Britain leaving the EU, author JK Rowling says: “I don't think I've ever wanted magic more." Corden's Californian nightmare 5.06am James Corden, the British comedian, tweets from LA, where he lives while working as the host of CBS's The Late Late Show: “I can't get my head around what's happening in Britain.I'm so sorry to the youth of Britain. I fear you've been let down today x” Britain searches for gold – and Irish passports 5am As strong Leave results continue to pour in, Google Trends reports a spike of more than 500 per cent in UK searches for “buy gold” over the previous four hours. It is part of a broader wave of panicked informational searches, which also include “how to apply for an Irish passport” and “move to Gibraltar”. The pound keeps falling 4.41am The pound, already in the throes of a historic collapse, continues to plunge on Dimbleby’s announcement, eventually sinking to a 31-year low. The largest one-day fall in sterling’s history is one of the most dramatic currency moves ever seen in a major developed-market currency, far exceeding that of Black Wednesday in 1992. Former foreign secretary David Miliband, in his essay from The Brexit Effect, 2016-2026 serialised by The Indepedent earlier this month, argues that we are still suffering a punishing Brexit tax every day, 10 years on Dimbleby: We're out 4.40am With no time for a trigger warning, the veteran anchor of the BBC’s results coverage David Dimbleby calls it. “Well, at 20 minutes to 5, we can now say the decision taken in 1975 by this country to join the Common Market has been reversed by this referendum to leave the EU... The British people have spoken and the answer is: We're out." The BBC shows 'ludicrous caution' 4.37am Apparently in denial about the result, the BBC can only bring itself to announce it is "likely that the Leave campaign has built up a clear lead". John Rentoul tweets, calling it “ludicrous caution”. Leading Remainers throw in the towel 4.28am Ardent Remain campaigner and Tory MP Anna Soubry tweets: "I will respect the result. It's a dreadful decision. We have to make the best of it." A new Leave projected vote 4.20am Based on partial results and modelling of newly available turnout data, Leave is projected by both BBC and ITV to surpass the 16.76m votes needed to secure victory. And the next prime minister will be… 4.10am John Rentoul tweets: “Some people suggesting Theresa May as a unity candidate. Tory party members won’t wear it. “It’s Boris Johnson. We had better get used to it.” Former Tory MP Conor Burns recalls the chaos surrounding Boris Johnson’s rise to Downing Street, in an extract from The Brexit Effect 2016-2026: Boris’ path to power and Brexit, told by those who loved and loathed him Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments