THE people of St Helens have cast their votes in the EU Referendum.

Results for the whole borough are as follows:

Votes cast (Remain): 39,322

Votes cast (Leave): 54,357

Proportion of voters (Remain): 41.95 per cent

Proportion of voters (Leave): 58.05 per cent

Turnout: 68.87 per cent

Britain has voted to leave the European Union in an historic referendum which has thrown Westminster politics into disarray and sent the pound tumbling on the world markets.

In a closely-fought contest, the Leave camp passed the winning post of 16,757,766 with eight of the 382 voting areas still to declare, heading for an overall majority of 52% to 48%.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage declared that June 23 should "go down in history as our independence day", while Vote Leave's chair, the Labour MP Gisela Stuart, said it was "our opportunity to take back control of a whole area of democratic decisions".

Sterling suffered one of its biggest plunges in the overnight markets, hitting lows last seen in 1985 and losing more than 10% against the US dollar, as traders responded with panic to the prospect of the UK quitting the European Union after 43 years.

With Prime Minister David Cameron expected to address the nation from Downing Street before financial markets opened, Labour said he should "seriously consider his position", while Mr Farage said he should resign immediately after voters rejected his passionately-expressed advice to stay in the EU.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney is expected to make a statement after Mr Cameron.

As polling stations closed at 10pm on Thursday with polls still predicting a Remain victory, 84 pro-Leave Tories - including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove - handed a letter to Mr Cameron urging him to stay on as leader whatever the result of the referendum.

But as Leave built an increasingly unassailable lead as the night wore on, with victories in the Tory English shires, Labour strongholds in the north, Wales and Midlands, others in his party raised questions about Mr Cameron's future.

Long-standing Eurosceptic John Redwood suggested Tories should wait to see if Mr Cameron was willing to "implement the public will" after a Leave vote.

Mr Redwood said the PM should bring in talent from the Leave side to build "a new government to bind the country together". And Conservative backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg said a general election in the autumn was "not impossible".

Influential backbencher David Davis said the Prime Minister could stay on for a "couple of years" but should put someone else in charge of negotiations on a new relationship with the EU.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the Bank of England may have to intervene to shore up the currency. Mr Cameron would now be "a hostage" to his pro-Brexit MPs, who will make sure they seize "key positions", he said, warning that "ordinary people must not pay the price" of the Leave victory.

Speaking at the Electoral Commission's main counting centre in Manchester, Ms Stuart said that all political leaders should "reflect on whether they have accurately gauged the people's desire to govern themselves".

The German-born MP said a calm cross-party effort was now needed to implement voters' decision "in the best long-term interests of this country". And she broke into her native tongue to assure other EU nations that Britain would remain an "open, welcoming" country which would continue to co-operate with its former partners.

Leaders of the European Commission, Council and Parliament were due to give their initial response at a press conference in Brussels, amid speculation that a leaders' summit scheduled for Tuesday may be brought forward to deal with the decision.

Senior Labour backbencher and former Europe minister Keith Vaz said the EU should call an emergency summit to deal with the aftermath of the vote, which he described as "a crushing, crushing decision ... a terrible day for Britain and a terrible day for Europe".

Senior Leave campaigners including Andrea Leadsom and Liam Fox urged the Prime Minister to wait before invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which starts the process of negotiating a new relationship for the UK with Europe, with a two-year deadline to reach a deal.

The Remain side was buoyed during the night by strong performances in London, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

But its fate was sealed by poor results in many of Labour's traditional strongholds in the north of England, including Sheffield, where Mr Farage hailed a narrow victory for Leave as "amazing". In a surprise result, Birmingham voted to Leave by the slimmest of margins.

The result in Scotland is certain to create massive pressure for a second independence referendum. Former Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond said he was "quite certain" that an effort to drag Scotland out of the EU against its will would lead to the invocation of a manifesto promise to stage another ballot if there was a "significant and material" change in circumstances from the 2014 vote.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland had delivered a "strong, unequivocal vote" making clear that "the people of Scotland see their future as part of the European Union".

The results sparked calls from within Labour for a change in direction, with Bassetlaw MP John Mann saying that the strong showing for Brexit in former heartland areas showed the party was "out of touch" with traditional voters who were "sick to death" with what they were being offered.

Mr McDonnell acknowledged it was clear "people don't think we've been listening enough" and suggested Labour should reconsider its stance on freedom of movement.

Senior Labour figures including Ed Miliband and Yvette Cooper suggested that the scale of support for Leave was fuelled by discontent with the way the country was heading on issues like wages, jobs and opportunities for the young as much as by opposition to the EU.

In their letter, the pro-Leave Tories told Mr Cameron: "We believe whatever the British people decide you have both a mandate and a duty to continue leading the nation implementing our policies."

As well as Mr Johnson and Mr Gove, the signatories included Cabinet-level Brexit backers Chris Grayling, Theresa Villiers, John Whittingdale and Priti Patel.

But notable absences included former Cabinet ministers Iain Duncan Smith, Owen Paterson, Cheryl Gillan and David Jones, along with the chair of the backbench 1922 committee Graham Brady and influential MPs including Mr Davis and Bernard Jenkin.

Labour's Jonathan Ashworth said the Conservative Party was "utterly preoccupied with leadership infighting rather than the future of the country", adding: "This letter cannot unsay what senior Tory politicians have been telling us for weeks - that the British people simply cannot trust David Cameron."

Mr Grayling said it would be "an absolute nonsense" for Mr Cameron to quit. But Labour's shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn said: "I think it's very hard for him in those circumstances to remain. If you are the Prime Minister, you've called this referendum, you've laid your reputation on the line and your arguments, I think it's going to be very hard."

Lib Dem former Cabinet minister Sir Vince Cable said holding the referendum was a "very bad call" by the Prime Minister, who failed to understand what happens "when you just throw the cards in the air".

Some 72.2% of the 46,500,001 eligible voters turned out at polling stations, said the Electoral Commission. The total turnout of 33,568,184 was just short of the highest ever participation in a UK general election, in 1992.