United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union, often shortened to Brexit (short for British exit) is a political aim of some political parties, advocacy groups, and individuals in the United Kingdom (UK) for the country to leave the European Union (EU). In 1975 a referendum was held on the country's membership of the European Economic Community (EEC), a precursor to the EU. The outcome of the vote was that the country continued to be a member of the EEC. More recently the European Union Referendum Act 2015 has been passed to allow for a referendum on the country's membership of the EU, with a vote due to be held before the end of 2017.
History
The United Kingdom joined the EEC, commonly referred to as the Common Market in the UK, on 1 January 1973. This was done under the Conservative government of Edward Heath. 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
In 1975 the United Kingdom held a referendum in which the electorate was asked 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-Europeans and strongly anti-Europeans, Harold Wilson suspended the constitutional convention of Cabinet collective responsibility and allowed ministers to publicly campaign on both sides. In total, 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 within 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.[1] It was heavily defeated as the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher was re-elected.[1] The Labour Party subsequently changed its policy.[1]
As a result of the Maastricht Treaty, the EEC became the European Union.
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.[2] It fielded candidates in 547 constituencies at that election and won 810,860 votes.[3] It failed to win a single parliamentary seat as its vote was spread out, losing its deposit (funded by Goldsmith) in 505 constituencies.[3]
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 1906 that any party other than the Labour or Conservative parties had taken the largest share of the vote in a UK-wide election.
Referendum promise
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 ensure the UK's position within an evolving EU has 'the full-hearted support of the British people".[4][5][6] In January 2013, Cameron announced that the Conservative Party would hold an in-out referendum on EU membership before the end of 2017, on a renegotiated package, if elected in 2015.[7]
UKIP gained their first elected MP in October 2014, as Douglas Carswell won a by-election after defecting from the Conservatives.[8] Mark Reckless, another defector from the Conservatives, subsequently won another by-election for UKIP in the autumn of 2014. However, UKIP won only a single seat (held by Carswell) in the 2015 general election and finished third in the popular vote.
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,[9] Cameron has announced that the election will be a free vote, allowing Conservative MPs to vote either yes or no, according to their conscience. This decision came after mounting pressure for a free vote within the party.[10] Additionally, in an exception to the usual rule of cabinet collective responsibility, Cameron will allow cabinet ministers to publicly campaign for EU withdrawal.[11]
References
- 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.
- ↑ Wood, Nicholas (28 November 1994). "Goldsmith forms a Euro referendum party". The Times. p. 1.
- 1 2 "UK Election 1997: parties, party candidates, total vote, percentage vote, lost deposits [Archive]". Politicsresources.net. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
- ↑ 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). 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.
- ↑ "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'.
- ↑ Sparrow, Andrew (1 July 2012). "PM accused of weak stance on Europe referendum". The Guardian (London). 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'.
- ↑ "David Cameron promises in/out referendum on EU". BBC News. BBC. 23 January 2013.
- ↑ "Farage says UKIP could hold balance of power in 2015". BBC News. BBC. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
- ↑ "David Cameron sets out EU reform goals". BBC News. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ↑ "Cameron: MPs will be allowed free vote on EU referendum – video" (Video). The Guardian (Parliament TV). 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
- ↑ 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.