Aftershocks of the Referendum; The Labour Party in Britain Faces Internal Crisis

The aftershocks of the announcement of Britain's intention to leave the European Union also affected the main opposition party in Britain on Sunday, with expectations that more than half of the shadow cabinet ministers from the Labour Party would resign from their positions. The Labour Party, the main opposition to the ruling Conservative Party in Britain, has seen tensions among its members escalate in recent days as many believe that the party leader has not made sufficient efforts to keep Britain in the EU. According to the British newspaper The Guardian, the sharp criticism from Hilary Benn, the Labour Party's foreign affairs spokesperson, of the party leader led to his dismissal on Saturday evening, and following him, Heidi Alexander, the party's health spokesperson, resigned early Sunday in protest against the actions of Jeremy Corbyn, the party leader. The Observer reported that Hilary Benn's dismissal was due to his preparation for a 'coup' against the party leader. These developments have led to more than half of the other 28 members of the Labour Party's shadow cabinet threatening to resign on Sunday. The 'shadow cabinet' in Britain is a body composed of key members of the opposition party that forms an alternative cabinet to the current ministers of the country, so that if the opposition party wins in future votes, each member is prepared to take over the relevant ministry. Critics of Jeremy Corbyn say that he has expressed critical views about the EU for decades and did not engage in efforts to convince citizens of the benefits of remaining in the EU before the recent referendum. The result of the UK referendum published on Friday shows that 51.9% of voters want the country to leave the EU. Shortly after this result was announced, David Cameron, the Prime Minister of Britain, announced his intention to resign, and the value of the pound reached its lowest level in 31 years. The British cabinet has long been divided on the issue of whether to stay in or leave the EU, and Philip Hammond, the British Foreign Secretary, responded to reporters' questions on Sunday about potential resignations in the cabinet. According to Reuters, Mr. Hammond stated that all members of the British cabinet would remain in their positions at least until the new Prime Minister takes office. In another reaction to the results of the Brexit referendum, the First Minister of Scotland announced that the local government would take steps to preserve Scotland's membership in the EU and prepare for a potential referendum. Nicola Sturgeon added that this action might include a re-vote on the independence of this region from Britain. Shahran Tabari, a member of the Labour Party and a political analyst, told Radio Farda on Friday that since the day the referendum results were announced, political instability has engulfed Britain. He continued, 'Everything in Britain is uncertain... British society is a broken society. Political instability has led to economic instability.' The European Union, holding an emergency meeting, has urged Britain to implement its decision to leave the EU as soon as possible to prevent 'uncertainties.' While David Cameron, the current Prime Minister of Britain, says that the process of leaving the EU will be the responsibility of the next Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, the main candidate for this position, says there is no need to 'rush' to leave and that prolonging this process will give Britain 'more maneuvering power.' In this context, Asian economic officials have expressed concerns about the consequences of the Brexit referendum.