The sun rises over The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben in London, Britain, 24 June 2016. Britons in a referendum on 23 June have voted by a narrow margin to leave the European Union (EU). Media reports on early 24 June indicate that 51.9 per cent voted in favour of leaving the EU while 48.1 per cent voted for remaining in. The United Kingdom on 01 January 1973 had joined the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessing organization of the European Union.