British PM David Cameron looking increasingly likely to lose leadership over Brexit

BRITISH PM David Cameron’s position was looking very shaky as the Brexit vote revealed the UK would leave the EU.

British Prime Minister David Cameron’s leadership looking increasingly shaky. Picture: Christopher Furlong

NOW that the British people have spoken, Prime Minister David Cameron’s position is looking increasingly shaky.

Leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage reportedly called for the Prime Minister’s resignation earlier as the result looked increasingly likely to deliver a win for the Leave campaign.

Even if he is not immediately ousted, Mr Cameron’s future is uncertain as it’s likely that he will eventually be replaced.

But in the short term, Mr Cameron’s colleagues look to be shoring up his leadership with the Times of London reporting that his chances of survival had been given a major boost. At least 86-Brexit supporting MPs have written to him saying he had a duty to stay on as Conservative Party leader.

Almost two thirds of those who opposed the prime minister in the referendum have began to frantically try and bolster his position as speculation about his leaderships begins.

Ryan Goss of the Australian National University Law School told news.com.au earlier that Mr Cameron was facing a perilous political position even if Remain won.

“It there was a close Remain result, technically it would resolve the issue for now but there would remain considerable political pressure on Cameron and his government,” Mr Goss said.

There was some speculation in the media that Mr Cameron could call another election.

“So there could be another full election before the end of the year,” he said. “This issue is spiralling quickly.”

The fate of Mr Cameron, who called the referendum and led the “remain” campaign, was tied to the EU result.

Almost half the politicians from his Conservative Party backed an EU exit, and the “leave” campaign was led by potential leadership rivals, including former London Mayor Boris Johnson.

They are celebrating in #Leave campaign. @Nigel_Farage tells me @David_Cameron should resign at 10am pic.twitter.com/rsJDc2Tf2M

— Jonathan Swain (@SwainITV) June 24, 2016

“If the prime minister loses this I don’t see how he can survive as prime minister,” said Scottish National Party politician Alex Salmond.

“Talk about lame ducks. This would be a duck with no legs and no stability whatsoever.”

Mr Goss said it would be very hard for Mr Cameron to retain the confidence of his Conservative Party colleagues if Leave won.

“So you could have a prime minister Boris Johnson or a prime minister Michael Gove, or someone else on the Leave side of the debate.

“It’s not a legal or constitutional requirement (for Cameron to step down), it’s whether others think he should stay.”

At a referendum night party at the London School of Economics, Kevin Featherstone, the head of the European Institute, said that whichever way things went, the vote should serve as a wakeup call to politicians across the continent.

“One of the deeper headlines from tomorrow, of a narrow victory either way, is that wider Europe has got to learn the lesson about how to re-engage with ordinary publics,” he said.

“We can see across Europe countries which have been ... far bigger supporters of the European Union for a number of years starting to have serious doubts.”

— With AAP