“We have done it without having to fight, we have done it without a bullet being fired. Dare to dream that the dawn is breaking on an independent nation.”

They are the words you’ll be hearing many times over, for decades to come, said by Nigel Farage at 4am on June 24, as, without having set foot in the House of Commons, he became the most influential politician in his country’s recent history.

As this new dawn broke over Westminster, the pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985.

“This is a victory for ordinary people, for good people, for decent people,” he said. "The people who’ve “had enough of the merchant bankers.”

If a recession looms, it will again be ordinary, decent people who will not be shielded from it.

EU referendum - in pictures Show all 18 1 /18 EU referendum - in pictures EU referendum - in pictures A woman in a wheelchair with British and European Union flags shows her support for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union on the day of the EU Referendum in Gibraltar Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures A polling station being used in the EU referendum at Batley Town Hall in the constituency Labour MP Jo Cox PA EU referendum - in pictures People arrive to vote in the EU Referendum at the Library where British MP Jo Cox was shot and fatally wounded last week in Birstall EPA EU referendum - in pictures A man arrives to vote at a polling station for the Referendum on the European Union in north London REUTERS EU referendum - in pictures Voters queue to enter a polling station at Trinity Church in Golders Green in London Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha Cameron leave after voting in the EU Referendum at Central Methodist Hall, Westminster Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn cast his vote at a polling station at Pakeman Primary School in Islington Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures Chelsea pensioners arrive at a polling station near to the Royal Chelsea Hospital PA EU referendum - in pictures A woman wearing an "I'm In" t-shirt, promoting the official "Remain" campaign, leaves a polling station in London AFP/Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures People queuing outside a polling station on Amott Road in London PA EU referendum - in pictures Scotland's First Minister and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Nicola Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell, react as leave after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall in east Glasgow AFP/Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures A man wearing a European themed cycling jersey leaves after voting at a polling station for the Referendum on the European Union in north London REUTERS EU referendum - in pictures Ukip leader Nigel Farage arrives to cast his vote at Cudham Church of England Primary School in Biggin Hill, Kent PA EU referendum - in pictures Justice Secretary and prominent 'Vote Leave' campaigner Michael Gove poses with his wife Sarah Vine after voting in the European Union referendum at their local polling station in Kensington Getty EU referendum - in pictures Nuns leave a polling station after voting in the EU Referendum in London EPA EU referendum - in pictures People arrive to cast their ballots in the EU Referendum in Gibraltar. The United Kingdom and its dependant territories are going to the polls to decide whether or not the the United Kingdom will remain in the European Union Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures A man driving a van covered in stickers urging people to vote for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union drives outside a polling station on the day of the EU Referendum in Gibraltar Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures A sign on a gable wall in Belfast's, Loyalist Tigers Bay urging voters to leave the EU using scripture from Revelation 18:4, as voters head to the polls across the UK in a historic referendum on whether the UK should remain a member of the European Union or leave PA

A mere five hours earlier he had all but conceded defeat, blaming ‘the establishment’ as he did so.

But then the Sunderland result came in and Lord Ashcroft’s champagne hit the walls.

Lord Ashcroft wasn’t here. And it wasn’t champagne. It was sparkling wine from his estate in Kent.

The noise almost shook the room. 61 per cent. Above 60 and they knew there was a game on. And the cheers kept coming. If you’d had a decibel meter on the top floor of the Millbank Tower at the Leave.EU party, it would have tracked the crashing of sterling in perfect symmetry.

“The eurosceptic genie is out the bottle,” Farage had warned in those early moments when, for reasons no one knows, he was all but conceding defeat, and blaming the decision to reopen the voter registration deadline.

“I hope I’m wrong,” he said. “I hope I’m made a fool of.”

He was made a fool of. He didn’t seem to mind.

How the EU referendum result unfolded

When Basildon yielded 69 per cent for Leave, it was even louder. So loud, who could barely hear the TV, relaying the chants from the crowds of ‘Fuck off Brussels.’

Nigel Farage paced from one end of his party to another. A TV interview at one end. Another at the other end. Most of the camera crews were European. They looked shell shocked.

“We will win this war,” Nigel Farage had said. “We will get our country back, we will get our independence back and we will get our borders back.”

It was a concession speech. Needlessly given, but the war is likely to just being started. No one on any side of the debate has promised to reduce net migration. If Leave wins and the number doesn’t come down, whatever anger has been seen in this campaign will be as nothing.

Win or lose, this was meant to be Nigel Farage’s last stand. Ukip serves no purpose beyond securing this referendum. Win and the job is done. Lose and the decision is made once and for all. In his moment of defeat he vowed to fight on. If he is to have a moment of victory, he may have to vow to fight on again.

Whatever happens, David Cameron’s plan to end his party’s Europe issue once and for all has backfired on a scale of historic proportions.

The calls for him to ‘resign tomorrow’ are loud indeed. Jacob Rees-Mogg warned to expect a general election ‘before the end of the year.’