A Step-By-Step Guide To The Most F*ucked Up Week In UK Political History

With a referendum turnout of 72%, the UK decided to leave the EU. 51.9% of the electorate were ecstatic.

While 48.1% were in absolute shock.

Nigel Farage immediately set about making an addition to calendars.

Coincidentally, the second instalment of the Independence Day franchise was released in the UK on the day of the referendum. This is the poster to promote it...

After campaigning relentlessly to remain, David Cameron announced his resignation.

F*ck this I'm off, Boris can deal with it. Not even Lewis Hamilton could steer his way out of this one.

Meanwhile the FTSE 100 lost £122 billion and the pound plummeted to a 30-year low.

Already deep divisions were beginning to show between those who voted for either side.

A petition was even started calling for an independent capital as it emerged that across all London boroughs, 59.9% (2.26 million) voted in favour of remaining in the EU.

Before it was even midday, rumblings began in the Labour camp that leader, Jeremy Corbyn, would face a leadership challenge as his own MPs blamed him for the result of the vote. One senior Labour MP exclusively told The Huffington Post UK: "We cannot go into this election with this bloke. All his comments about free movement in Europe showed a complete lack of understanding of the electorate and it was an incompetent campaign."

No one could have seen the scale of what was coming but that wouldn't be apparent for another day or so. In the meantime it was Boris Johnson's (long-standing favourite to replace Cameron as PM in the event of his resignation) turn to make a statement at one the most sombre victory speeches ever given alongside fellow leave campaigner, Michael Gove.

Some people are now saying [the referendum] was wrong and that the people should never have been asked in this way. I disagree. I believe it was entirely right and inevitable and indeed that there is no way with dealing with a decision on this scale except by putting it to the people.

A Guardian commenter summed up Boris's dilemma when they wrote:

The referendum result is not binding. It is advisory. Parliament is not bound to commit itself in that same direction. If Boris runs for leadership of the party, and then fails to follow through on triggering Article 50, then he is finished. If he does not run and effectively abandons the field, then he is finished. If he runs, wins and pulls the UK out of the EU, then it will all be over - Scotland will break away, there will be upheaval in Ireland, a recession ... broken trade agreements. Then he is also finished. Boris Johnson knows all of this.

Then it was Nigel Farage's turn to take a hammering as he was forced to admit on live TV that a central pledge of the leave campaign - that £350m currently sent to the EU every week could be reinvested in the NHS - was a "mistake".

Amongst all this turmoil (bear in mind it wasn't even midday yet) far-right groups and individuals were claiming the referendum as vindication of their own nationalist ideals. Britain First, the BNP, Tommy Robinson and Marine le Pen were all delirious.

The joy wasn't shared by all who had campaigned to leave - stories began to emerge of numerous voters who were already regretting their decision.

The leave camp then took another substantial blow as another of their key pledges - to reduce immigration - was revealed to be untenable by MEP Daniel Hannan

This is ridiculous, we're starting a petition for a second referendum. Young voters have had their futures decided by old people who won't have to deal with the consequence.

75% of people aged 18-24 say they voted for Remain with the figure falling as age increases.
Just 39% of those aged 65 and over backed a vote to stay.

WA-HEY! It's the biggest of its kind in history!

And then the outward racism started to appear in public...

Back at Labour HQ, Jeremy Corbyn began to pre-empt any leadership challenge. Asked whether he would stand again, he said:

Yes, I’m here.

North of the border Nicola Sturgeon was having a great time with all Scottish boroughs voting to remain.

We are determined to act decisively but in a way that builds unity across Scotland about the way forward. As I said yesterday, a second independence referendum is clearly an option that requires to be on the table and is very much on the table.

Not having such a great time was Jeremy Corbyn whose shadow cabinet had begun to take decisive action.

After Corbyn's sacking of Hilary Benn early Sunday morning, 11 shadow cabinet members had quit by the end of the day. There would be lots more to come.

By Sunday, social media was awash with reports of hate crimes seemingly perpetrated by emboldened sections of the public who saw the Brexit vote as a vindication of their views.

Police reported 57% increase in hate crimes in the wake of the referendum.

Later in the day the Leave campaign unravelled further when a visibly stunned Faisal Islam, political editor for Sky News, spoke of a recent meeting with a Conservative pro-Brexit MP.

Then, just when you thought things couldn't get anymore surreal, Labour's deputy leader had to cut short his weekend in Glastonbury to deal with the absolute shit show his party - and UK politics as a whole - had become.

Here he is at the train station with what must rate as possibly the worst hangover in the history of the festival

Those who want to change Labour’s leadership will have to stand in a democratic election, in which I will be a candidate.

Jeremy Corbyn was fighting to cling onto the leadership of the Labour Party, as shadow cabinet minister after shadow cabinet minister resigned from his frontbench in a series of coordinated announcements spread over several hours.

By this point Corbyn had lost 18 shadow cabinet ministers from his frontbench as well as several more junior shadow ministers. He announced a new shadow cabinet in response.

Economically, it was still looking grim.

But in the public sphere things were looking brighter (in the face of much darkness) as people rallied round to defend victims of hate crimes

For Corbyn however, things just got worse.

He needs to realise that he can’t lead us into a general election. He’s a very honorable and decent man, but this is not something that he is proven able to do. And I think in the interests of the Labour Party, it’s incumbent on him to recognise that and resign and let the party pick another leader who can take us forward.

Meanwhile, racism on the streets of Britain continued to escalate with the BBC's Sima Kotecha becoming a high-profile victim.

Tuesday was all about Nigel Farage's 'victory' speech in the European parliament during which he somehow managed to make Britain's relationship even worse than it already was. During a speech in which he was heckled and booed by MEPs with their heads in their hands in despair, he said:

Of the people listening to Farage one was Vytenis Andriukaitis (the guy rubbing his face) who used to be a heart surgeon. Others included Marco Affronte, a former marine biology teacher, Geoffrey Van Orden, a former brigadier in the British Army.... the list goes on.

Undeterred Farge continued...