User:Jopal22/Brexit

The United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, informally referred to as Brexit (a portmanteau of "British" and "exit"), is a scheduled event to implement the result of a referendum that took place in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar where the majority voted in favour of leaving the European Union (EU), a political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe.

In 1973 the UK, along with Ireland and Denmark, joined the European Communities (EC), a set of primarily economic institutions with a membership of Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. In 1975, the UK's first national referendum was held to gauge support for the country's continued membership of the European Communities, where the electorate expressed significant support for EC membership, with 67% in favour. The EC evolved to have greater political and economic oversight over time, and this lead to the formal establishment of the European Union in 1993. The EU also expanded to include most European states including the former communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. On 9 June 2015, the primary chamber of Parliament of the United Kingdom voted by 544 to 53 in favour of a national referendum on the United Kingdom's European Union membership, although only about 25% of MPs subsequently campaigned to leave the EU. The referendum took place on 23 June 2016, with 51.9% voting to leave the European Union. Although legally the referendum was non-binding, the government of the time had promised to implement the result, and it initiated the official EU withdrawal process on 29 March 2017, meaning that the UK is due to leave the EU before 11pm on 29 March 2019, UK time, when the two-year period for Brexit negotiations expires.

The withdrawal of the UK from the EU will potentially require various new laws and treaties to be implemented to replace the existing EU laws that cover the UK, as well as the trading relationship with the EU and the rest of the world (which was previously conducted primarily via the EU). Main issues of political debate about the UK's future laws and policies post Brexit include the trade policy with the EU and rest of the world, agriculture, fisheries, border control and immigration, replacing EU funding in areas such as scientific research and regional development, as well as requiring domestic laws to be passed on issues such as workers rights. The future border policy between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is a key item of debate, with both the UK and EU favouring an open border, but the logistics of achieving this if there are two separate customs areas is proving a challenge. Other key issues of discussion include the future status of UK citizens who have settled in the rest of the EU, and EU citizens who have settled in the UK, as well as the final payment, if any, the UK should make to the EU budget for existing commitments.

Although a minority of MPs were in favour of leaving the EU before the referendum, the vast majority of MPs committed to implement the result of the referendum and leave the EU. There has been considerable disagreement within the Parliament of the United Kingdom as to the nature of the UK's future relationship with the EU. This disagreement has resulted in slow legislative progress, and led to significant uncertainty, which in itself has caused significant issues for businesses. As a result of the failure to reach consensus in parliament, the date the UK leaves the EU has been delayed, and some MPs have joined a campaign to have another referendum on the UK's future relationship with the EU, including the possibility of reversing the previous referendum and remaining in the EU.