The United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union. Just over half of Britons voted to exit the EU in a referendum on Thursday. Currency markets were immediately affected. Britain's pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985. Britain's decision to leave is a political earthquake. Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay in the EU and are now thinking about breaking from the UK. A right-wing politician in Europe congratulated the UK for leaving. He said: "It is Great Britain's independence day….The European Union as a political union has failed.