UK to leave EU

[Fidel_Castronaut]

The EU is a reciprocal supranational trading body (in it's purest form at least). It would be more accurate to say that the EU doesn't need the UK *as much* as opposed to not at all per se. But there will be supply chain and export markets directly affected even now by the uncertainty of the UK exit, both by the physical act and the surrounding unknown variables that affect it. I know, I work for a company which has a supply chain in Europe which has already seen job turnover increase as a direct result of contracting investment.

The UK is still currently the 5th or 6th largest economy in the world. Removing that from direct unrestricted input into your common market will undoubtedly have an effect. The EU will probably be able to weather the storm better, due to size of it's biggest economies (France and Germany only). But you're potentially removing an economy the size of France from unrestricted free market access. I'm sorry, but there are people's jobs, businesses and pensions that rely on that economy being on the inside, both in the UK and EU.