United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union

"Brexit" redirects here. For the 2016 referendum on this subject, see United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016.

Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, often shortened to Brexit (a portmanteau combining the words "Britain" and "exit"[1]), is a political aim of some advocacy groups, individuals and political parties in the United Kingdom (UK). The central group of advocates for Brexit is VoteLeave, which is composed of a broad range of groups ranging from Labour to Conservative. In 1975 a referendum was held on the country's membership of the European Economic Community (EEC), a precursor to the European Union (EU). The outcome of the vote was that the country continued to be a member of the EEC. A referendum on the country's membership of the EU will be held on 23 June 2016 following the passing of the European Union Referendum Act 2015.

History

The UK was not a signatory to the Treaty of Rome which created the EEC in 1957. The country subsequently applied to join the organisation in 1963 and 1967, but both applications were vetoed by the then President of France, Charles de Gaulle.[2] Once de Gaulle had resigned the French presidency, the UK made a third application for membership, which was successful. On 1 January 1973 the United Kingdom joined the EEC, then commonly referred to in the UK as the Common Market. This was done under the Conservative government of Edward Heath.[3] The opposition Labour Party, led by Harold Wilson, contested the October 1974 general election with a commitment to renegotiate Britain's terms of membership of the EEC and then hold a referendum on whether to remain in the EEC on the new terms.

1975 referendum

The energy crisis in 1973 caused economic issues for many Western countries.

In 1975 the United Kingdom held a referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EEC. All of the major political parties and mainstream press supported continuing membership of the EEC. However, there were significant splits within the ruling Labour party, the membership of which had voted 2:1 in favour of withdrawal at a one-day party conference on 26 April 1975. Since the cabinet was split between strongly pro-European and strongly anti-European ministers, Harold Wilson suspended the constitutional convention of Cabinet collective responsibility and allowed ministers to publicly campaign on either side. Seven of the twenty-three members of the cabinet opposed EEC membership.

On 5 June 1975, the electorate were asked to vote yes or no on the question: "Do you think the UK should stay in the European Community (Common Market)?" Every administrative county in the UK had a majority of "Yes", except the Shetland Islands and the Outer Hebrides. In line with the outcome of the vote, the United Kingdom remained a member of the EEC.

Yes votes Yes (%) No votes No (%) Turnout (%)
17,378,581 67.2 8,470,073 32.8 64.5

Further developments

The opposition Labour Party campaigned in the 1983 general election on a commitment to withdraw from the EEC.[4] It was heavily defeated as the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher was re-elected.[4] The Labour Party subsequently changed its policy.[4]

As a result of the Maastricht Treaty, the EEC became the European Union. Ahead of the adoption of the Maastricht treaty, Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn thought the treaty would not take EU member states in the direction of democratic United States of America, saying that European Central Bank, which is independent of sovereign governments' economic policies, would undermine member countries' democracy.[5] Corbyn argued that ECB's first policy priority is to maintain price stability, and ECB is staffed by bankers, adding that the creation of the euro would impose a "bankers' Europe" on EU members.[5]

The Referendum Party was formed in 1994 by Sir James Goldsmith to contest the 1997 general election on a platform of providing a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU.[6] It fielded candidates in 547 constituencies at that election and won 810,860 votes.[7] It failed to win a single parliamentary seat as its vote was spread out, losing its deposit (funded by Goldsmith) in 505 constituencies.[7]

The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), a Eurosceptic political party, was also formed in the early 1990s. It achieved third place in the UK during the 2004 European elections, second place in the 2009 European elections and first place in the 2014 European elections. This last was the first time since the 1910 general election that any party other than the Labour or Conservative parties had taken the largest share of the vote in a UK-wide election.

2016 referendum

In 2012, British Prime Minister David Cameron rejected calls for a referendum on the UK's EU membership, but suggested the possibility of a future referendum to gauge public support.[8][9] According to the BBC,[10]

The prime minister acknowledged the need to ensure the UK's position within the European Union had "the full-hearted support of the British people" but they needed to show "tactical and strategic patience".
— UK Politics, BBC

In January 2013, Cameron announced that a Conservative government would hold an in-out referendum on EU membership before the end of 2017, on a renegotiated package, if elected in 2015.[11]

The Conservative Party, led by David Cameron, won the 2015 general election. Soon afterwards the European Union Referendum Act 2015 was introduced into parliament to enable the referendum. Despite being in favour of remaining in a reformed European Union himself,[12] Cameron announced that Conservative Ministers and MPs were free to campaign in favour of remaining in the EU or leaving it, according to their conscience. This decision came after mounting pressure for a free vote for Ministers within the party.[13] Additionally, in an exception to the usual rule of cabinet collective responsibility, Cameron will allow cabinet ministers to publicly campaign for EU withdrawal.[14]

In a speech to the UK House of Commons on 22 February 2016,[15] Prime Minister Cameron announced a referendum date of 23 June 2016 and set out the legal framework for withdrawal from the European Union in circumstances where there was a referendum majority vote to leave, citing Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.[16] Cameron spoke of an intention to trigger the Article 50 process immediately following a leave vote and of the 'two-year time period to negotiate the arrangements for exit'.

Support for withdrawal

The official campaign group for Leaving the EU is Vote Leave; other major campaign groups include Leave.EU, Grassroots Out and Better Off Out.

Opposition to withdrawal

The formal campaign to stay in the EU, chaired by Stuart Rose is known as Britain Stronger in Europe, or informally as Remain. Barack Obama prompted heated discussion on both sides of the debate, following a letter he authored, published in The Telegraph, which urged Britons not to leave the EU, and warned that "Britain would be 'in the back of the queue' for forging a new trade deal with the US if the country votes to leave the EU."[17][18][19]

Campaign Anthems

Both the Remain and Leave campaigns have released songs[20] to promote their messages. Gruff Rhys for the Remain team entitles his song "I love EU". For the Leave campaign, UKIP parliamentary candidate Mandy Boylett created a parody of the anthem song "Three Lions".[21] David Baddiel, who penned the original "Three Lions", described this version as "brilliantly naff".[22]

Public opinion

Public opinion on whether the UK should leave the EU or stay has varied, but polling generally shows a small majority for staying. An October 2015 analysis of polling suggests that younger voters tend to support remaining in the EU, whereas those older tend to support leaving, but there is no gender split in attitudes.[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The UK's EU referendum: All you need to know". BBC News. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "1967: De Gaulle says 'non' to Britain - again". BBC News. 27 November 1976. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "1973: Britain joins the EEC". BBC News. 1 January 1973. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Vaidyanathan, Rajini (4 March 2010). "Michael Foot: What did the 'longest suicide note' say?". BBC News Magazine. BBC. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  5. 1 2 J. Stone, "Jeremy Corbyn predicted that the Euro would lead to 'the imposition of a bankers' Europe'", independent.co.uk, 18 September 2015.
  6. ↑ Wood, Nicholas (28 November 1994). "Goldsmith forms a Euro referendum party". The Times. p. 1.
  7. 1 2 "UK Election 1997". Politicsresources.net. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  8. ↑ Nicholas Watt (29 June 2012). "Cameron defies Tory right over EU referendum: Prime minister, buoyed by successful negotiations on eurozone banking reform, rejects 'in or out' referendum on EU". The Guardian (London, UK). Retrieved 2 July 2012. David Cameron placed himself on a collision course with the Tory right when he mounted a passionate defence of Britain's membership of the EU and rejected out of hand an 'in or out' referendum.
  9. ↑ Sparrow, Andrew (1 July 2012). "PM accused of weak stance on Europe referendum". The Guardian (London, UK). Retrieved 2 July 2012. Cameron said he would continue to work for 'a different, more flexible and less onerous position for Britain within the EU'.
  10. ↑ "David Cameron 'prepared to consider EU referendum'". BBC News. BBC. 1 July 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012. Mr Cameron said ... he would 'continue to work for a different, more flexible and less onerous position for Britain within the EU'.
  11. ↑ "David Cameron promises in/out referendum on EU". BBC News. BBC. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  12. ↑ "David Cameron sets out EU reform goals". BBC News. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  13. ↑ "Cameron: MPs will be allowed free vote on EU referendum – video" (Video). The Guardian. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016. The PM also indicates Tory MPs will be able to take differing positions once the renegotiation has finished
  14. ↑ Hughes, Laura; Swinford, Stephen; Dominiczak, Peter (5 January 2016). "EU Referendum: David Cameron forced to let ministers campaign for Brexit after fears of a Cabinet resignation". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "Prime Minister sets out legal framework for EU withdrawal". UK Parliament. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  16. ↑ "Clause governing withdrawal from the EU by a Member State". The Lisbon Treaty. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  17. ↑ Barack Obama's views betray a 'woeful ignorance' on the impact of the EU on Britain's security, says Armed Forces minister, telegraph.co.uk; accessed 23 April 2016.
  18. ↑ "EU makes Britain even greater": Obama, telegraph.co.uk; accessed 23 April 2016.
  19. ↑ Michael, Shindler (21 April 2016). "Obama is Wrong to Discourage Brexit". Centre for Policy Studies. CapX. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  20. ↑ "Brexit Campaign Songs". Channel 4 News. 23 April 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  21. ↑ "Video shows Ukip's Mandy Boylett spoof Three Lions to sing Britain's Coming Home". Mail Online. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  22. ↑ Michael Wilkinson (23 February 2016). "Ukip's anti-EU Three Lions parody song 'Britain's Coming Home' wins backing of David Baddiel for being 'brilliantly naff'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  23. ↑ John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow at NatCen and Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University (October 2015). "Britain divided? Who supports and who opposes EU membership" (PDF). Economic and Social Research Council. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
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