Brexit is the term used for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU). Brexit came from the words British and exit. British voters approved Brexit in a controversial referendum (public vote) in June 2016. For years, British and EU leaders failed to reach an agreement on the details of the withdrawal, and the official Brexit—originally set for March 29, 2019—was delayed. On Jan. 31, 2020, the United Kingdom officially ceased to be a member of the European Union. The two sides entered an 11-month transition period, after which Britain left the EU single market and customs union.
Background.
The European Union is an economic and political partnership among European countries. It grew out of economic cooperation that began among Western European countries in the early 1950’s. These countries eventually cooperated in economic affairs as members of the European Community (EC). The United Kingdom joined the European Community in 1973, becoming part of the European Union with its creation in 1993. The EU member countries formed a single economic market without internal barriers to trade, labor, and investment.
The United Kingdom benefited in many ways from EU membership, including in its economy and employment, access to food and medical supplies, global influence, and international security and transportation. Membership also enabled British citizens to live and work freely in other EU member countries, without the need for foreign work visas or other restrictions.
Opposition to the EU.
Some U.K. citizens resisted the country’s membership in the European Union from the beginning. Some of them felt that membership weakened British sovereignty (self-rule) and the so-called “nation-state”—the country’s common descent, language, history, and culture. Other people rejected the United Kingdom’s economic responsibilities within the union, which were greater than those of many other member nations. Still others objected to the increased numbers of people from other EU countries coming to live and work in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), a right-wing political group, was formed in 1993 with the specific goal of withdrawing the United Kingdom from the European Union. For many years, UKIP attracted little popular support. However, the party gained political momentum in the 2010’s under the leadership of Nigel Farage, a prominent Euroskeptic (critic of the EU).
Brexit campaign.
During the campaign for the 2015 general election, British Prime Minister David Cameron agreed to hold a Brexit referendum. Cameron, who was the leader of the Conservative Party at the time, opposed the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, despite considerable support for Brexit within his party. Boris Johnson, Britain’s foreign secretary at the time, became the party’s leading cheerleader for Brexit. Among the voting public, supporters of Brexit became known as leavers, while opponents became known as remainers. Cameron resigned from office after the Brexit referendum narrowly passed—51.9 percent in favor to 48.1 percent opposed—in June 2016. The new Conservative Party leader, Theresa May, replaced Cameron as prime minister and vowed to honor the results of the Brexit referendum.
Later developments.
In March 2017, the British government invoked Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union—the procedure for a member state to withdraw from the union—and set the withdrawal date for March 29, 2019. Negotiations for the withdrawal began in June 2017, and an agreement between British and EU leaders was finally reached in November 2018. The agreement failed to gain support in the British Parliament, however, and the European Union granted an extension of Brexit negotiations beyond the March 2019 deadline. The extension delayed the Brexit deadline to Oct. 31, 2019. May’s difficulty in persuading Parliament to agree on the details of the withdrawal led her to resign as head of the Conservative Party on June 7. May remained as prime minister until Johnson was elected as leader of the party in late July.
In the years between the referendum vote and the legal departure from the European Union, support for Brexit fluctuated among opinion poll respondents. Many British people called for a second referendum, allowing the opportunity for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union. Others claimed that holding a second referendum would show disrespect for the democratic will of the British people as expressed in the 2016 vote. Britons also differed on whether a Brexit withdrawal should be “hard” or “soft.” A hard, or “no deal” Brexit would cut all ties with the European Union. A soft Brexit would keep the United Kingdom closely aligned with Europe. Prior to the implementation of Brexit, many businesses and industries operating in Britain began to relocate or reduce employees. Many economic experts predicted that Brexit—and particularly a “hard” Brexit—would bring further economic troubles to Britain, including lower productivity and living standards.
Johnson’s political support largely depended on his delivering a hard Brexit. Hoping to hinder Parliament’s ability to debate Brexit-related matters prior to the October 2019 deadline, Johnson announced that he had asked Queen Elizabeth II to prorogue (suspend) Parliament from early September to mid-October. The queen—whose role is largely ceremonial, with no power to oppose the elected government—agreed to Johnson’s request. In late September, however, the Supreme Court ruled that the prorogation was unlawful. Supreme Court president Lady Hale stated that the prorogation had hindered “the ability of Parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification.” Parliament reconvened (met again) soon afterward.
In October 2019, Johnson and EU leaders agreed to extend the Brexit deadline to Jan. 31, 2020. In national elections held in December 2019, the Conservative Party won many more seats than its chief rival, the Labour Party. The vote gave Johnson a broad mandate to pursue a Brexit agreement on his party’s terms. In January 2020, Parliament approved a measure authorizing the United Kingdom to leave the European Union at the end of that month. The European Parliament voted to approve the withdrawal agreement later in January.
The United Kingdom formally left the European Union at 11 p.m. local time (12 a.m. in Brussels, the EU headquarters) on Jan. 31, 2020. British citizens were no longer EU citizens, and the United Kingdom gave up its ability to influence the EU lawmaking process. The United Kingdom and European Union entered an 11-month transition period, during which relations between the two entities remained largely unchanged. Negotiations between UK and EU officials over matters of trade, security, and fishing rights extended into late 2020. The two sides came to an agreement on December 24. The British Parliament passed, and Johnson signed, the new trade and cooperation agreement on December 30. The European Parliament approved the agreement on April 28, 2021.
