British consumer confidence tanks after EU vote

Britain's Home Secretary, Theresa May, is applauded as she makes a statement outside the Palace of Westminster, in London, after she won 199 votes for the Conservative leadership, Thursday July 7, 2016. Andrea Leadsom took 84 votes and Michael Gove took 46, meaning the UK's next prime minister will be a woman. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP) (The Associated Press)

Copies of the first edition of "The New European", a brand new weekly newspaper that will be published every Friday for four weeks, are displayed for sale outside a convenience store after being taken out of a delivery box, in central London, Friday, July 8, 2016. A new newspaper in Britain is aimed at the 48 percent of the population who voted to remain in the European Union in last month's referendum. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) (The Associated Press)

LONDON – Consumer confidence in Britain has taken a dive in the wake of the country's decision to leave the European Union.

In a one-off survey to gauge the impact of the referendum result, market research firm GfK says its core index of consumer confidence dropped by 8 points to minus 9 in July. The decline was the biggest in 21 years.

The survey also shows that sentiment has sunk among both those who voted to remain in the EU and those who voted to leave. The measure for so-called "remainers" was minus 13, while "leavers" were slightly more optimistic at minus 5.

The online survey of 2,002 respondents was conducted between June 30 and July 5. The referendum on June 23 saw 52 percent voting to leave the EU.