Leave vote blows the whole EU plan wide open

In the end, it was a close-run thing. British voters went to the polls on Thursday in a referendum on whether or not to stay in the 28-member European Union, and by saying "No" blew the whole question of the EU's future wide open.

Relying on a mix of calls to patriotism, fear of unlimited immigration and suffocation by what it sees as the EU's red tape and petty rules, the "Leave" campaign, headed by the maverick former mayor of London Boris Johnson, just had the edge.

But once the flag-waving and celebrations die down, Britons are going to be left wondering just what they have let themselves in for.