Leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage on Monday stepped down as leader of the UK Independence Party as the shockwaves from Britain's decision to quit the EU continued to reverberate.
"I have decided to stand aside as leader of UKIP," he told a London press conference. "The victory for the 'Leave' side in the referendum means that my political ambition has been achieved."
The 52-year-old vowed to watch Britain's renegotiation process with the EU "like a hawk" as he continued to serve as an MEP in Brussels.
"If there is too much backsliding... then UKIP's best days may be yet to come," he said.
His words will be taken as a warning to those hoping to replace Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, who resigned after the referendum, saying he would leave Britain's exit negotiations to his successor.
In a pointed reference to frontrunner Theresa May, who wanted Britain to stay in the EU, Farage said Britain's next leader should be a "Brexit prime minister".
He also offered his services to "other independence movements springing up in other parts of the European Union".
Farage becomes the second leading Brexit campaigner to step aside in the wake of their seismic victory in the June 23 vote, after former London mayor Boris Johnson pulled out of the race to succeed Cameron last week.
Manfred Weber, the German head of the centre-right European People's Party in the European Parliament, called the UKIP leader a "coward" for quitting.
"Farage is the latest coward to abandon the chaos he is responsible for," he tweeted. "This shows that he has no credibility at all."
'Make most of hand dealt'
Along with the political turmoil, Brexit has been predicted to hit Britain's economy, and the country last week had its credit rating downgraded.
Seeking to stem fears of a business exodus, finance minister George Osborne on Monday said he would seek to slash corporation tax.
Osborne could cut Britain's levy on company profits to under 15 percent, the Treasury said Monday, confirming a weekend report in the Financial Times newspaper.
The new target, which has no timetable, would give Britain the lowest rates of any major economy, putting it closer to the 12.5 percent rate in neighbouring EU member Ireland.
"We must focus on the horizon and the journey ahead and make the most of the hand we've been dealt," Osborne, who had campaigned with Cameron for Britain to stay in EU, told the FT.
Scott Corfe, an analyst at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said the corporation tax cut would be a sensible move.
"With signs that the economy is set to slow drastically, there is a strong case for fiscal stimulus and measures which assure companies that the UK is an attractive place to do business," he told AFP.
Ireland Finance Minister Michael Noonan downplayed the possible impact on his country, pointing out that Osborne had already announced his intention two years ago to cut corporate tax to 17 percent by 2020.
Immigration dilemma
Osborne's own future as finance minister is far from certain as his Tory colleagues jostle to become the next leader and prime minister.
Brexit champion Andrea Leadsom and former defence minister Liam Fox on Monday made their pitch for the top job, a day before the party's MPs vote to jettison one of the five candidates.
Leadsom, now firm favourite to make the final two-horse run-off, and insisted she would drive a hard bargain during Brexit negotiations with Brussels, if elected.
"I know how to strike a deal in a tough negotiation. And I know, as a woman, how to succeed in a man's world and how to fight the unfortunate prejudice that many working mothers still experience," she said.
The former banker added that "freedom of movement will end", potentially putting her on a collision course with other European leaders.
May has also said she would push for a new trade deal that limited immigration.
"The Brexit vote gave us a very clear message that we couldn't allow free movement (of people) to continue as it had," May told ITV.
But one of her supporters, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, said there would be a trade-off between accessing the EU single market and allowing free movement of people.
"Those who believe there is no need for such a trade-off have misunderstood something fundamental about the politics of the European Union," he wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper on Monday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has insisted any free trade deal would have to include freedom of movement.
AFP
Mon Jul 04 2016
Farage reacts while making a speech in London on Monday, announcing that he was stepping down as leader of the UKIP. - AFP Photo
Kadar penerimagunaan 5G hampir 36 peratus, liputan 80.3 peratus - Fahmi
Kadar penerimagunaan 5G di negara ini telah mencecah hampir 36 peratus setakat pertengahan bulan ini, manakala kadar liputan perkhidmatan itu telah mencapai 80.3 peratus pada Februari lepas.
Kontroversi UM: Mahasiswa tuntut penjelasan atau boikot kuliah
Sekumpulan mahasiswa Universiti Malaya yang berang dengan tindakan Institut Pengajian China, Universiti Malaya (UM) menjemput individu pro-Zionis, akhirnya turun berdemonstrasi bagi menyuarakan bantahan dan akan memboikot kuliah pengajian jika tiada reaksi dari pihak pentadbiran UM.
Lima anggota polis disyaki samun berdepan tindakan dalaman
Lima anggota polis antara tujuh individu yang ditahan kerana disyaki terbabit dalam kes samun warga asing membabitkan wang tunai berjumlah RM260,000, berdepan tindakan dalaman antaranya pertukaran jabatan.
JKDM beli 20 anjing pengesan dadah libat kos RM1.9 juta
JKDM dalam proses perolehan 20 ekor anjing pengesan dadah serta tiga unit mesin pengimbas 'backscatter' dalam usaha perangi dadah.
Sultan Selangor berangkat ke majlis bacaan yasin, tahlil di Pangkalan TLDM
Sultan Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah yang juga Kepten Yang Dipertua Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM) berkenan berangkat ke Pangkalan TLDM Lumut.
MOT, Khazanah, MAG perlu perkukuh tadbir urus MAB - PM Anwar
Jelas Anwar lagi, pengurusan syarikat penerbangan yang baik juga akan memberi manfaat kepada kakitangan melalui gaji yang setimpal dengan perkhidmatan mereka.
Kontroversi UM: Mahasiswa protes, tuntut tindakan tegas pihak jemput profesor pro-Israel
Sekumpulan mahasiswa Universiti Malaya (UM) hari ini mengadakan perhimpunan membantah tindakan menjemput penceramah pro-Zionis memberi ceramah di institusi itu baru-baru ini.
[INFOGRAFIK] Penstrukturan Semula Akaun KWSP | Berkuatkuasa 11 Mei 2024
Berikut adalah info berkenaan dengan Penstrukturan Semula Akaun KWSP.
Sekatan terhadap penceramah asing pro-Zionis demi keselamatan negara - Zambry
Sekatan terhadap penceramah asing pro-Zionis perlu dilihat dari aspek keselamatan dan imej negara yang boleh terjejas akibat kenyataan mereka.
Kekejaman zionis: Universiti Columbia ilhamkan gelombang protes nasional
Protes di Universiti Columbia membantah perang Israel di Gaza telah mencetuskan gelombang demonstrasi serupa di kampus kolej seluruh Amerika Syarikat.
Tidak realistik untuk runding semula protokol - Suruhanjaya Eropah
Badan eksekutif Kesatuan Eropah itu akan melancarkan prosedur pelanggaran bagi melindungi pasaran tunggal blok itu daripada risiko pencabulan protokol.
Pasca-Brexit: Kekurangan bekalan makanan dibimbangi di UK
Bermula 1 Jan, pengimport mesti membuat pengisytiharan kastam penuh mengenai barangan yang dibawa masuk ke UK dari EU atau negara lain.
Pemuda UMNO cadang pembentukan Kabinet Perang
Perdana Menteri boleh meletakkan jawatan atau menasihati Yang di-Pertuan Agong untuk membubarkan Parlimen jika tidak lagi mendapat majoriti.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Pasca-Brexit: Kesatuan Eropah tidak akan runding semula perjanjian asal
Kerajaan UK sebelum ini menyatakan, pemeriksaan sempadan yang dikenakan terhadap barangan dari Ireland Utara terbukti tidak dapat dilaksanakan.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Hubungan dengan EU: UK minta runding semula babitkan peraturan dagang
Protokol itu perlu ditulis semula kerana ia melemahkan proses perdamaian dan mempengaruhi kehidupan rakyat di Ireland Utara.
Pasca-Brexit: Parlimen Eropah akan sahkan perjanjian perdagangan
Rancangan asal EU bertujuan mengelak pembukaan sempadan antara Ireland dengan Ireland Utara menjadi pintu belakang bagi bekalan vaksin.
Nelayan Britain berdepan risiko hilang pendapatan susulan larangan eksport EU
Larangan itu dibuat selepas Britain meninggalkan EU pada 1 Januari lalu, yang mana hasil laut yang berkenaan perlu dibersihkan sebelum digunakan dan tidak boleh dijual kepada 27 ahli blok berkenaan.
Kalau tidak politik, kami nak main apa, Mak Yong, congkak? - Salahuddin Ayub
Pakatan Harapan (PH) akan terus berpolitik demi memastikan suara rakyat terus didengari meskipun ada desakan supaya sebarang bentuk politik dihentikan buat masa ini.