Brexit

The United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union is widely known as Brexit, a portmanteau of "British" and "exit". Following a referendum held on 23 June 2016, in which 52% of votes cast were in favour of leaving the EU, the UK government intends to invoke Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (the formal procedure for withdrawing) by the end of March 2017. This, within the treaty terms, would put the UK on a course to leave the EU by March 2019. Prime Minister Theresa May, elected by the ruling Conservative Party in the wake of the referendum, has promised a bill to repeal the European Communities Act 1972 and to incorporate existing EU laws into UK domestic law. In January 2017, May announced a 12-point plan of negotiating objectives and confirmed that the UK government would not seek continued membership of the single market. The terms of withdrawal have not yet been negotiated and in the meantime, the UK remains a full member of the European Union.

The UK joined the European Economic Community (EEC), a predecessor of the EU, in 1973, and confirmed its membership in a 1975 referendum by 67% of the votes. Historical opinion polls 1973–2015 tended to reveal majorities in favour of remaining in the EEC, EC or EU. In the 1970s and 1980s, withdrawal from the EEC was advocated mainly by some Labour Party and trade union figures. From the 1990s, withdrawal from the EU was advocated mainly by some Conservatives and by the newly founded UK Independence Party (UKIP).

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