Next up . . . the Trump factor?

IN a world where a reality TV personality may end up as the world's most powerful politician, one whose most telling contribution to cultural advancement are the words "you're fired!", should it come as any surprise that the people of the UK, renowned for valuing their sovereignty and reeling from sudden, unbridled immigration, have decided to leave the European Union?

Of course not. Just as it's possible that in five months' time Donald Trump will win the US presidential election, the likelihood of a British exit or "Brexit" has always existed. Yet, markets had projected their own preference onto the outcome, swinging up at the slightest hint that the "remain" camp would win.

Most observers believed the opinion polls, betting that UK's citizenry would see the claimed economic benefits of staying within the EU and thus vote accordingly. This misplaced faith bred a dangerous complacency.