Who hasn’t heard of Brexit?
The U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union
has dominated debates here in Parliament,
discussions at work, dinners with friends,
and much of the media coverage.
The Brexit vote has shaken modern politics forever, with
the U.K. set to be the first country to leave the Union.
But after more than 40 years of
membership, how did we get here?
We need to rewind back to 1961 when the U.K. applied
to be a member of the European Union for the first time.
Back then, the block was called the European Economic
Community, otherwise known as the common market.
Its aim was to bring about
economic integration.
But the U.K.’s inclusion in
the common market faced
some opposition from within
the group, mainly from the French.
President Charles de Gaulle vetoed the U.K.’s
application in 1963 and again in 1967.
He doubted Britain’s commitment
to the union’s political objectives
and believed its economy wasn’t compatible
with those of its six existing members.
The U.K.’s “special relationship” with
the U.S. was also a concern for him,
worrying the partnership would get in
the way of building a strong Europe.
But in 1969 France elected a new president and
the U.K. succeeded in joining the group in 1973.
But just two years after joining,
the U.K. held a referendum
on whether it should remain in the
European Economic Community.
Back then, 67% of voters favored
continued membership.
In the years that followed, the European Union
transformed from a trade arrangement
to more of a political alliance, giving Brussels
increasing influence over other areas of policy.
But the U.K. was still able to negotiate with the European
Union on the terms of its ongoing membership.
In 1984 Margaret Thatcher managed to broker
a deal, commonly referred to as the rebate,
which reduced the U.K.’s financial contribution
to the European budget by billions.
This arrangement was exclusive to
the U.K. and is still in place today.
The U.K. has also benefited
from so-called opt-outs,
which essentially means the U.K. does not have
to participate in certain European policies.
For example, the U.K. didn’t join the Schengen Area in
1985, maintaining a border that has passport controls.
The U.K. also opted out of
a monetary union in 1992,
keeping its currency, the pound
sterling, instead of the euro.
The introduction of the euro was part of a
wide-ranging agreement called the Maastricht Treaty.
Signed by the U.K. along with 11 other
member states, it expanded the EU’s remit
as an economic community to include
foreign affairs, justice and policing.
Ultimately it was the framework for
the modern EU, but for Eurosceptics,
it was an unacceptable transfer of powers
from the U.K. parliament to Brussels
and threatened further divisions
in the Conservative government.
However, a long period of economic growth
under pro-European Prime Ministers
maintained enough support for
the EU and the single market,
meaning that calls for another EU referendum
were put on the backburner for nearly 20 years.
Nonetheless, there was growing dissatisfaction
with the level of bureaucracy in Europe.
In 2004, the entry of 10
new countries into the EU
also led to more questions in the U.K.
about the country’s level of immigration.
In the 10 years that followed, the number of
EU migrants living in the U.K. almost doubled.
This, along with the fall in household
incomes after the 2008 financial crash,
has been seen by some as contributing to a groundswell
of resentment toward European migrants,
something that the major political parties
were slow to recognize and respond to.
As a result, support for the anti-European party UKIP
and its leader Nigel Farage started to grow rapidly.
By 2014 some surveys suggested that the party
was being supported by up to 16% of the electorate.
Many Conservative party candidates were concerned
about their supporters switching allegiance to UKIP
and pleaded with Prime Minister David Cameron to
promise an EU referendum in his campaign manifesto.
To avoid the risk of defections
from within his own party,
he did and the Conservatives won
the election with an overall majority.
As divisions within the party
started to become more evident,
Cameron promised a referendum
by the end of 2017.
But first, he tried re-negotiating with the EU
some of the terms of Britain’s membership.
He emerged from the talks with a deal, but
that wasn't enough to convince Eurosceptics.
For many, the process gave the impression
that Brussels was inflexible and unwilling
to make big concessions to
keep Britain in the union.
So Prime Minister David Cameron had to deliver on his
manifesto promise and set a date for a referendum,
the 23rd June 2016 with a simple question, whether
to remain in or leave the European Union.
And I will go to Parliament and propose that
the British people decide our future in Europe.
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