Last night, residents of the United Kingdom voted in favor of leaving the European Union in a 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent split. It’s a somewhat surprising and hugely important result, one that calls into question the future of Europe and the United Kingdom, and though you may disagree with the result, at least British voters were considered, thoughtful, and fully aware of the consequences of their votes. Right? Right? Hello? Anyone?
According to Google Trends, it seems many people might not have been entirely sure about the effects of voting to leave. A truly comforting thought! Google searches for “what happens if we leave the EU” spiked up 250 percent in the hours following the decision.
It wasn’t the only thing spiking in search results. Here’s another comforting indication:
In a nutshell, here’s some of what will happen if you leave the EU, people who Googled after the fact. Prime Minister David Cameron will resign and spend the next two years working on the plan for the U.K.’s formal exit from the EU. The value of the pound will likely fall significantly (or rather, even more significantly that it already has in the months prior to the vote) and the U.K. will begin using the money it was previously paying in fees to the EU for things like eliminating the taxes on home-energy bills and funding the National Health Service. The Leave campaign has a number of new laws it wants to push through, like the Asylum and Immigration Control Bill, which would takeaway the right of EU citizens to to freely enter the U.K. and the European Union Law Bill which would allow the U.K. to remove any EU citizen in the U.K. who is “not conducive to the public good.” Also, Donald Trump will likely find a way to make it about himself. (Oh wait, he already did.)
“What happens if we leave” wasn’t the only question people were asking following the vote. Some people were still unsure if the U.K. was really leaving.
While others weren’t clear on what the EU actually does.
Or who would replace David Cameron as Prime Minister.
The process of leaving the EU will take the U.K. several years. In the meanwhile, if you have further questions, try Google.
