2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum

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2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum

23 June 2016
Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?
Results
Choice Votes % Leave 17,410,742 51.89% Remain 16,141,241 48.11% Valid votes 33,551,983 99.92% Invalid or blank votes 25,359 0.08% Total votes 33,577,342 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 46,500,001 72.21%
Results by local voting area Leave:      50–60%      60–70%      70-80% Remain:      50–60%      60–70%      70-80%      90-100%
On the map, the darker shades for a colour indicate a larger margin. The electorate of 46.5m represents 70.8% of the population.

National and regional referendums held within the United Kingdom and its constituent countries
Northern Ireland border poll     1973 EC membership referendum     1975 Scottish devolution referendum     1979 Welsh devolution referendum     1979 Scottish devolution referendum     1997 Welsh devolution referendum     1997 Greater London Authority referendum     1998 NI Good Friday Agreement referendum     1998 NE England devolution referendum     2004 Welsh devolution referendum     2011 Alternative Vote referendum     2011 Scottish independence referendum     2014 EU membership referendum     2016     * UK-wide referendums in bold
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Part of a series of articles on
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Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union Glossary of terms
Background European Communities Act 1975 EC membership referendum UK rebate Bruges speech No. No. No. Maastricht Rebels Black Wednesday European Union (Amendment) Act 2008 European Union Act 2011 UK opt-outs from EU legislation Euroscepticism in the UK UK opinion polling on EU membership Campaigns for a referendum People's Pledge Labour for a Referendum Bloomberg speech In or Out 2013–14 EU (Referendum) Bill (unsuccessful) 2014 European Parliament election 2014 UK Parliament by-elections Clacton Heywood and Middleton Rochester and Strood 2015 UK general election 2015–16 EU membership renegotiation
2016 EU referendum EU Referendum Act (Gibraltar) EU Referendum (Date of Referendum etc.) Regulations EU Referendum (Conduct) Regulations Issues Endorsements Opinion polling UK Government pro-EU leaflet Campaigns Leave campaigns Vote Leave (official) Business for Britain Conservatives for Britain BeLeave Leave.EU Bpoplive The Freedom Association Better Off Out Grassroots Out Labour Leave Get Britain Out Bruges Group Campaign for an Independent Britain Brexit: The Movie Remain campaigns Britain Stronger in Europe (official) Labour In for Britain European Movement UK Britain in Europe British Influence Business for New Europe Nucleus Project Fear Outcome Results Causes for result International reactions Immediate aftermath 2016 Conservative Party election 2016 Labour Party election 2016 UKIP election Department for Exiting the EU Department for International Trade Allegations of unlawful campaigning Alleged Russian interference
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Timeline Bloomberg speech Jan 2013 Referendum Bill blocked Jan 2014 European Parliament election May 2014 2015 general election May 2015 Renegotiation begins Jun 2015 Referendum Act passed Dec 2015 Renegotiation concluded Feb 2016 Referendum held Jun 2016 David Cameron resigns as PM Jul 2016 Theresa May becomes PM Jul 2016 Article 50 judgement Jan 2017 Brexit plan presented Feb 2017 Notification Act passed Mar 2017 Article 50 invoked Mar 2017 Repeal Bill plan presented Mar 2017 2017 general election Jun 2017 Brexit negotiations begin Jun 2017 Withdrawal Act passed Jun 2018 Chequers plan presented Jul 2018 Withdrawal agreement plan presented July 2018 Withdrawal agreement released Nov 2018 Scottish Continuity Bill blocked Dec 2018 Meaningful votes Jan–Mar 2019 Brexit delayed until 12 April Mar 2019 Cooper–Letwin Act passed Apr 2019 Brexit delayed until 31 October Apr 2019 European Parliament election May 2019 Theresa May resigns as PM Jul 2019 Boris Johnson becomes PM Jul 2019 Prorogation and annulment Aug–Sep 2019 Benn Act passed Sep 2019 Withdrawal agreement revised Oct 2019 Brexit delayed until 31 January Oct 2019 2019 general election Dec 2019 Agreement Act passed Jan 2020 UK leaves the European Union Jan 2020 Implementation period begins Jan 2020 UK–EU trade deal agreed Dec 2020 Future Relationship Act passed Dec 2020 Scottish Continuity Act passed Dec 2020 Implementation period ends Dec 2020 New EU–UK relationship begins Jan 2021 UK–EU trade deal ratified Apr 2021 Windsor Framework released Feb 2023 Windsor framework adopted Mar 2023
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On 23 June 2016, a referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country should remain a member of, or leave, the European Union (EU). The referendum resulted in 51.9% of the votes cast being in favour of leaving the EU, triggering calls to begin the process of the country's withdrawal from the EU commonly termed "Brexit".

Since 1 January 1973 the United Kingdom had been a member state of the EU and its predecessor the European Economic Community, along with other international bodies. Since joining, the constitutional implications for the UK had been a topic of debate domestically. A referendum on continued membership of the Communities to try and settle the issue was held in 1975, with 67.2% of the votes cast in favour of the UK remaining a member.^[1] Between 1975 and 2016 as European integration deepened, subsequent EC/EU treaties and agreements were ratified by the UK Parliament.

Following the surprise Conservative Party victory at the 2015 general election as a main manifesto pledge, the legal basis for the EU referendum was established through the European Union Referendum Act 2015. Prime minister David Cameron also oversaw a renegotiation of the terms of EU membership, intending to implement these changes in the event of a Remain result. The referendum was legally non-binding due to the ancient principle of parliamentary sovereignty, although the government promised to implement the result.^[2]

Campaigning officially took place between 15 April and 23 June 2016.- The official group for remaining in the EU was Britain Stronger in Europe while Vote Leave was the official group endorsing leaving.^[3] Other campaign groups, political parties, businesses, trade unions, newspapers and prominent individuals were also involved, with both sides having supporters from across the political spectrum. Parties in favour of 'remain' included Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru and the Green Party;^[4][5][6][7] while the UK Independence Party (UKIP) campaigned in favour of leaving the European Union;^[8] and the Conservative Party remained neutral.^[9] In spite of the official positions of the Conservative Party and Labour, both parties allowed their MPs to publicly campaign for either side of the issue.^[10][11] Issues during campaigning included the costs and benefits of membership for the UK's economy, freedom of movement and migration. Several allegations of unlawful campaigning and Russian interference arose during and after the referendum.

The results were that most areas of the UK had a majority for Leave, with the exception of Scotland, Northern Ireland, Greater London and Gibraltar, where the majority of voters chose Remain. Voter preference correlated with age, level of education and socioeconomic factors. The causes and reasoning of the Leave result have been the subject of analysis and commentary.

Immediately after the result, financial markets reacted negatively worldwide and Cameron announced that he would resign as Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron was succeeded by Theresa May on 13 July 2016. The referendum prompted a wide array of reactions internationally. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also faced a leadership challenge as a result of the EU referendum. On 29 March 2017, the United Kingdom gave formal notice of intent to withdraw from the EU, with the withdrawal being formalised on 31 January 2020.