This is just as much a "fuck you" to London as it it to Brussels. The UK in its current form is one of the most centralised states that I can think of. All the power, media economic activity, government etc are based in London, and these people don't realise just how much the rest of the country has been left to rot for so long.
Last night when the first results were coming in from the North East of England and they showed much higher than expected margins and consistent leads for Leave, the look of the London broadcasters and the atmosphere in the studios turned noticeably thicker. Sort of like an anthropologist discovering that a long-forgotten primitive civilisation was now all of a sudden wielding a nuclear bomb.
It shouldn't even have been that surprising to the media, government or the markets. It was to be expected that rural communities voted to leave, but the complete and utter failure of Labour to connect with their heartlands following years of austerity and economic beatings being dished out to the poorest regions, and record levels of immigration, ensured that it was a home run for leave.
Corbyn supporters also have to take a lot of the blame here. Cameron is by far and away the architect of this, but the kind of anti-establishment movement that elected Corbyn in the first place has also lashed out in the direction of Leave, this time around. Also factor in that everybody knows Corbyn is unelectable and he doesn't connect with people in Labour heartlands or outside Islington, anyway. He clearly didn't even give a fuck about this decision.
Just break-up the UK and maybe create a semi-federalist state if possible. Create an English national Parliament in Manchester / Birmingham, devolve power outside of Westminster as much as reasonably possible and London can fuck off and become a defacto city state if it wants.
The warning signs with the Scottish referendum and annihilation of Labour have been there for all to see, but haven't been taken seriously.
