Eight years of Brexiting

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Eight years of Brexiting

As Britons were casting their votes in the EU referendum in 2016, Netflix was still running trailers for a new extravagant series called The Crown. Brexit may have been decided that summer, but the issue was far from settled and the event has been dominating the news for most of the decade – well before and after the referendum itself.

Looking back at the major events that shaped the drama-filled adventure of Britain’s exit from the EU, the whole plot may seem closer to screenplay that the award-winning series on the streaming platform.

January 2013 – British Prime Minister David Cameron says that disillusionment with the EU was “at an all-time high” and pledged to hold a referendum on the UK’s membership if the Conservative Party won the forthcoming general election in 2015.

April 2015 – The Conservative Party launched its election manifesto, promising a renegotiation of Britain’s EU membership terms and an in/out referendum by 2017. The Labour Party committed to reform the EU and restore British leadership of the project.

May 2015 – The Conservatives win a majority in parliament to govern on their own after leading a coalition in the previous term. Labour Leader Ed Miliband resigned following disappointing results. The leader of the Eurosceptic party UKIP, Nigel Farage, also stepped down, but the party’s share of the vote soared to 13 percent from 1.5 percent in 2001.

February 2016 – Prime Minister David Cameron announced a referendum on Britain’s EU membership to be held in June that year. He said he would campaign for the ‘in’ vote and fight for EU reform. One of the Prime Minister’s allies, Justice Secretary Michael

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Gove, joined the Out Campaign while Home Secretary Theresa May, who was thought to lean Out, sided with the Prime Minister.

June 2016 – Britain voted to leave the EU with a majority of 51.9 percent. A turnout of 72.2 percent was the highest voter participation in the UK since the 1992 general elections, with the Leave camp obtaining 17,410,742 votes – some 1.2 million more than the Remain side.

June 2016 – Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation the day after the EU referendum. In his address to the press, he said that the people’s will had to be respected.

July 2016 – Theresa May became British Prime Minister after being elected leader of the Conservative Party. She appointed David Davis in the newlycreated role of Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.

December 2016 – British Parliament votes overwhelmingly in favour of May’s plan to trigger the withdrawal process by the end of March 2017.

January 2017 – A bill by the government to empower the Prime Minster to invoke Article 50 in the EU Treaty is passed with the support of the Labour Party.

March 2017 – Theresa May delivers the letter for Britain to formally withdraw from the European Union to the President of the EU Council, Donald Tusk. The letter set a March 2019 deadline for the process.

June 2017 – The Prime Minister announces a snap general election and, while the Conservatives remained the biggest party, they lost the parliamentary majority and formed a minority government with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.

June 2017 – UK-EU negotiations on withdrawal officially begin with a meeting between Brexit Secretary David Davis and the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier.

December 2017 – Both sides agree on major sticking points after talks had been in deadlock for weeks. A joint report announced negotiations moved on to discuss future relations.

March 2018 – The EU and UK publish a draft agreement on Britain’s withdrawal, the document was littered with unresolved disagreements.

July 2018 – Prime Minister Theresa May presents the UK’s whitepaper on the terms of the future relationship with the EU, known as the Chequers plan. Brexit Secretary Davis resigns in protest, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and other ministers follow suit.

September 2018 – The EU rejects the Chequers document with Council President Tusk describing the plan as “cherry-picking” while chief negotiator Barnier raised concerns about the legality of the proposals on the Irish border.

November 2018 – The two sides reach a deal on the exit terms which includes a UK customs union with the EU. The second Brexit Secretary, Dominic Raad, resigns and May appoints Stephen Barclay as his replacement.

December 2018 – Theresa May faces criticism from within her party over the deal but survives a vote of confidence after promising to step down before the next election.

January 2019 – The House of Commons solidly rejects the UK Withdrawal Agreement in a meaningful vote, marking the biggest defeat for any government in the parliament’s history.

January 2019 – Theresa May demanded alternative arrangements with the EU, particularly on the issue of the Irish backstop.

March 2019 – Parliament shoots down the revised withdrawal document, although by a smaller margin than the first time. The Prime Minister asked the EU to extend Brexit until June. EU leaders offered an April deadline if a deal is not passed by the House or a May deadline if a deal is passed.

March 2019 – A protest in London demanding a second referendum attracts hundreds of thousands of people.

March 2019 – More members of the Commons come round to the latest withdrawal deal but not enough for the government to win the meaningful vote. No agreement could be reached on alternative routes out of the situation – including holding a second referendum.

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April 2019 – The EU and UK agree on a further ‘flexible’ deadline for October. The UK could exit earlier if a deal were reached.

May 2019 – Theresa May announces her resignation from the helm of the Conservative Party, staying on as caretaker Prime Minister until the election of a new leader.

July 2019 – Boris Johnson elected Tory leader and forms government as the new Prime Minister.

August 2019 – A formal plea by the British government to leave out the Irish backstop from the withdrawal agreement is refused by the EU.

September 2019 – A bill introduced by Labour MP Hilary Benn is voted into law, preventing the UK from leaving the EU without an exit deal. October 2019 – The UK and the EU announce a new deal which includes a new protocol on Northern Ireland. The EU Council supports the agreement.

October 2019 – Parliament forces the Prime Minister to seek a further extension, which the EU agrees to. Brexit is moved to January 31.

October 2019 – Prime Minister Johnson calls an early election for December.

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December 2019 – The Conservatives regain parliamentary majority to govern alone.

January 2020 – Parliament approves the withdrawal agreement. It passes through the European Parliament, too.

January 2020 – The UK officially leaves the EU on the last day of January, but a transition period until the end of the year begins as the two sides seek agreement on the post-Brexit relationship. February 2020 – The government publishes a set of objectives from the deal, proposing free trade and cooperation but no regulatory alignment.

April 2020 – EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier said that progress was slow as negotiations on trade, competition, justice, and fisheries between the two sides presented challenges.

June 2020 – Opposition parties including the new Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer called on the government to extend the transition period in the wake of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was adamant he would stick to the end-ofyear date.

October 2020 – The UK Chief Negotiator told his counterpart in Brussels that scheduled meetings had “no basis” as a no-deal scenario was looming. Prime Minister Johnson said that an agreement would be unlikely before the stipulated deadline.

November 2020 – Michel Barnier arrived in the UK to address the subject of fisheries and other outstanding issues.

December 2020 – Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held talks over dinner to try to avoid a no-deal relationship.

December 2020 – The UK government and the EU Commission announce on Christmas eve that a deal has been reached on a Trade and Cooperation Agreement.