January 31, 2020

Tonight, January 31, at midnight Central European Time (6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time in the United States), the United Kingdom will officially withdraw from the European Union (EU). The withdrawal has been termed Brexit, a combination of the words British and exit. British voters approved Brexit in a controversial referendum (public vote) in June 2016. Brexit was originally scheduled for 2019, but difficult negotiations delayed the withdrawal. The United Kingdom was a founding member of the EU in 1993.

A taxi driver waves a Union Jack flag in London after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union on June 23, 2016. Credit: © Stefan Rousseau, PA Wire/AP Photo

Negotiations on the United Kingdom’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU will begin in March 2020, and during this transition period—set to expire at the end of the year—the United Kingdom will remain in the EU single market and customs union. Thus, many of the changes implemented by Brexit will not be immediately felt by British and European citizens.

The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seen here campaigning for Brexit as a member of Parliament in 2016. Credit: © Christopher Furlong, Getty Images

The EU 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 EC in 1973, becoming part of the EU 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 has 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.

Some U.K. citizens, however, 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.

July 14, 2016

Theresa May became prime minister of the United Kingdom on July 13, 2016. Credit: UK Home Office (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Yesterday, July 13, British politician Theresa May became prime minister of the United Kingdom. May, who was elected leader of the Conservative Party earlier this month, replaced Prime Minister David Cameron. Cameron’s resignation yesterday followed through on a promise he made to step down after last month’s contentious “Brexit” referendum that will remove the United Kingdom from the European Union. May—who, like Cameron, did not support Brexit—faces a difficult transition period as the United Kingdom begins dealing with the many complications created by the referendum. May is the second woman (after Margaret Thatcher) to serve as prime minister of the United Kingdom.

After being formally invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, freshly minted Prime Minister May addressed the media outside No. 10 Downing Street, her new official London residence. May vowed to fight injustice and improve the lives of working-class families. She said her government’s mission was to work with the people to “build a better Britain,” and create a union “between all of our citizens.” She also said she would follow Cameron’s “one nation” example, praising him as a “great, modern prime minister.”

Theresa Mary Brasier was born in Eastbourne, Sussex, on Oct. 1, 1956. Raised in Oxfordshire, she later studied at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford, and married banker Philip May. She worked at the Bank of England before serving as a local councillor in Merton, south London. After unsuccessful election bids in 1992 and 1994, May entered Parliament in 1997 as representative for Maidenhead in the House of Commons. She was appointed the first woman chairman of the Conservative Party in 2002 and named home secretary in 2010.

British Prime Minister David Cameron resigned from office on July 13, 2016, following his failure to stop passage of the “Brexit” referendum in late June. Credit: © Getty Images/Thinkstock

June 24, 2016

On June 24, 2016, a taxi driver waves the Union Jack in Westminster, London, after British voters narrowly chose to leave the European Union in the historic “Brexit” referendum.
Credit: © Stefan Rousseau, PA Wire/AP Photo

Yesterday, June 23, British voters went to the polls to decide whether the United Kingdom (UK) should remain in the European Union (EU)—a contentious referendum nicknamed “Brexit” (British exit). By a 51.9 to 48.1 percent margin, voters narrowly chose to “leave,” sending shock waves throughout the UK as well as the rest of the world. Most business and world leaders had backed and expected a “remain” victory, and opinion polls too had predicted a narrow “remain” majority. Global economic markets and currencies dropped sharply upon the news, and British Prime Minister David Cameron, a strong “remain” backer, announced he would resign from office in the coming months. More than 33 million people voted in the Brexit referendum, a turnout of 72.2 percent.

The UK government is not bound by the “leave” vote, but politicians will no doubt respect its result. The process to leave the EU could take years, but the UK’s place in the partnership is immediately jeopardized. The UK could be excluded from votes on long-lasting matters and other topics of importance (such as its own Brexit). The European Parliament will hold an emergency session next week to discuss the vote’s result.

The consequences of the “leave” vote—beyond removing the UK from the EU—are widespread, lengthy, and somewhat uncertain. Cameron’s fall could be followed by many others, including that of Labour Party leader and fellow “remain” backer Jeremy Corbyn. The Brexit vote could also propel one of its most vocal supporters, former London Mayor Boris Johnson, into the vacancy soon to be left by Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party and possibly as prime minster as well. Other political ramifications could be the dissolution of the United Kingdom itself, as Northern Ireland and Scotland, who both voted against the Brexit, will be forced out of the EU against their will. Scotland in particular seems likely to revisit an independence referendum that was voted down less than two years ago. The vote also weakens the EU (the UK is the third largest contributor to the EU budget), and gives hope and strength to budding exit movements in other parts of Europe. Economically, time will determine how severe and long-lasting the currency and market crash will turn out to be. The Brexit vote also created panic and uncertainty among the hundreds of thousands of British citizens living and working in other parts of the EU.

To drum up support from right-wing British parties (which had long called for an EU exit), Prime Minister Cameron promised a future “in/out” EU referendum in 2013. The move helped Conservatives win parliamentary elections in 2015, but many party members then went against Cameron, who did not support a so-called Brexit. A “remain” victory—which at first seemed a near certainty—then fell into doubt. Right-wing groups and many others joined the “leave” camp. They based their support for an EU withdrawal on hopes of cutting off immigration, extricating the nation from the EU’s perceived heavy-handed bureaucracy, and “taking back control” of the UK’s place in the world. They also blamed Europe—the perceived gateway for migrants and refugees from elsewhere in the world—for such domestic problems as unemployment, stagnant wage growth, and high home prices. “Remain” voters supported the generally more favorable diplomatic, economic, logistical, political, and social conditions of EU membership.

By design and negotiation, the UK has been an unusual EU member since the partnership began in 1993. Most obviously, the UK did not join the Economic and Monetary Union when it was formed in 1999—meaning the British decided not to use the euro single currency (as do most EU members)—choosing instead to retain the pound sterling. Also, the UK is not part of the Schengen zone of passport-free travel (which includes the rest of the EU except Ireland). And, despite trailing only France and Germany in contributions to the EU budget, the amount the UK contributes as a percentage of its gross national income is the least of all EU member states.