Why and how did Britain leave the EU?
UK, which had been part of the European Union since 1973, left the union on the 31st of January 2020, making it the only sovereign country to leave the EU.
Nations in Europe have a bloody history of centuries of endless conflicts amongst them. World War 1 and World War 2, the largest and most devastating conflicts in human history, have their origins in Europe. Following World War 2, several European countries wanted closer economic, social and political ties. The aim was to promote reconciliation amongst the warring countries, especially France and Germany, while also fostering Economic growth and Military security. In 1957, the European Economic Community was formed. Britain officially joined this union in 1973.
In 1992, the Maastricht Treaty was signed, which established the European Union, created the EU citizenship and the creation of the EURO currency. UK’S Prime Minister John Mayor’s party almost collapsed in 1993 when some lawmakers from his own party voted against him for signing the Maastricht Treaty. This Euroskeptcism prevented Britain from adopting the Euro when it was launched in 1999.
8 Eastern European countries were added to the bloc in 2004. This triggered a wave of immigration from these Eastern European countries to the west. Britain was a top destination for these immigrants as its economy was growing 2x the pace of the Eurozone. In 2011, the percentage of foreign-born residents in England and Wales had risen to 13.4%! Over time some members of the British public grew resentful of this influx of immigrants.
Until 1993, the UK had a 2-party system with power switching between the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. In September, 1993, the UK Independence party was formed. They were a Euro-skeptic, right-wing political party and were hell-bent on helping UK gain ‘Independence’ from the European Union. They won 13% of the vote in the 2015 UK General Election, adding significant momentum for a potential Brexit.
In 2013, British Prime Minister David Cameron promised to hold a referendum if the Conservative Party were re-elected to power. This promise was also to appease and gather support within his own Conservative Party. In May, 2015 the Conservative party was voted into power, and David Cameron confirmed that the referendum will take place to decide the fate of Britain in the EU. By February, 2016, David Cameron announced that he had arrived at a ‘special status deal’ for the UK. He also confirmed that he would campaign for Britain to ‘remain’ in the EU. However, one of his closest conservative allies Boris Johnson, announced the very next day that he will be joining the ‘leave’ campaign.
In June, 2016, the referendum was held and 52% of Brits voted to leave EU, while 48% vote against it. David Cameron, who was in favour of Britain staying in the EU, resigns, and the then Home Secretary Theresa May became the Prime Minister. In 2017, Britain triggered Article 50 of the EU treaty, which states that any EU member state may withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirement.
In June, 2017 May called for a General Election in an attempt to boost the position of the Conservative party but loses the majority. This weakens the Conservative party and they are forced to continue in a weakened state. In November, 2017, the EU leaders came to a withdrawal deal following months of difficult negotiations, and May pushed the parliament to back the agreement. But some Conservative lawmakers wanted a clean break from the EU and they triggered a no-confidence vote against May which she won.
In January, 2019 the Brexit deal came to the UK parliament, where it gets defeated overwhelmingly. In June, 2019, May steps down as Prime Minister following stalled agreements. In June, 2019 Boris Johnson came into power with a promise to leave the EU with or without a deal. In October, 2019 UK and EU announced they have arrived at a deal following UK making concessions over Northern Ireland.
In October, 2019, Boris Johnson requests parliament for a General election to break the Brexit stalemate. Johnson wins a large majority in the General election, which gives him the power to push on with Brexit.
By January, 2020 the EU withdrawal bill became law. By late January, the European Parliament approves the Brexit divorce deal. And Brexit becomes official on the 31st of January 2020.
As seen in the above timeline, several reasons contributed to Britain's leaving the EU. Some of them are
- Rise of nationalistic sentiments
- Political autonomy
- Uncontrolled migration
- Europe was out of touch of reality
Some of the most substantial reasons put forward by leavers were issues of national pride, safety and sovereignty. They were also convinced that they could make decisions that better suited the national interest of Britain. On the 'Why Vote Leave' page from the official pro-Brexit campaign, it was stated that the UK could save £350 Million per week, and some of that could instead be diverted towards improving the National Health Service (NHS), Schools and Housing.
Uncontrolled migration was another critical reason which prompted Brexit. As seen in the timeline above, with the addition of Eastern European countries to EU – there was a high influx of Eastern Europeans to Britain. Then during the Arab Spring, when Arabs from the Middle East migrated to Europe, certain countries like Germany under Angela Merkel had a more open-door policy. However, the lack of clear decision from Europe on how to deal with migrants didn't do any good to sway the mood of the leavers. A series of other events also made large swaths of British people to believe that Europe was out of touch with reality.