EU membership referendum in the UK in 2016

Referendum result
51.89%	48.11%
exit	Whereabouts

Results by constituency:

For remaining in the EU 50.0 - 52.5% 52.5 - 55.0% 55.0 - 57.5% 57.5 - 60.0% 60.0 - 62.5% 62.5 - 67 .5 % 67.5 - 72.5% 72.5 - 80.0% 80.0 - 100% For leaving the EU 50.0 - 52.5% 52.5 - 55.0% 55.0 - 57.5% 57.5 - 60.0% 60.0 - 62.5% 62.5 - 67.5% 67.5 - 72.5% 72.5 - 80.0% 80.0 - 100%




















The referendum on the whereabouts of the United Kingdom in the European Union ( English referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union ), also called "EU Referendum" or "United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum referendum" refers to a consultative referendum was ( referendum ). It took place on June 23, 2016.

About 46.5 million citizens of the United Kingdom , Ireland and the Commonwealth were eligible to vote if they live in Great Britain, Northern Ireland or Gibraltar . The turnout was 72.2%. For the United Kingdom to leave the European Union (“Brexit”), 51.9% of voters (around 17.4 million or 37.4% of eligible citizens) voted; 48.1% voted to remain in the European Union (around 16.1 million or 34.7% of the citizens entitled to vote).

A consultative referendum is not binding. Before the UK could leave the EU, the government had to notify the European Council of its intention to leave. The government and the European Council then had two years to negotiate an agreement on the details of the exit, which the European Council had to pass by a qualified majority with the approval of the European Parliament . Since the agreement had not yet been negotiated after two years, these negotiations on the agreement were extended by a unanimous decision of the Council.

prehistory

1975 referendum

The United Kingdom under Prime Minister Edward Heath joined the European Economic Community (EEC) on January 1, 1973 as part of the so-called northern expansion . When the opposition Labor Party came to power in 1974, the new Prime Minister Harold Wilson initiated a referendum on whether the country should remain a member or leave the country. While most of the unions and Labor MPs were against staying, the Conservative Party, under its new leader Margaret Thatcher , as well as the business associations, were in favor of membership. About 67% of the voters decided to stay, with a turnout of 65%.

Establishment of referendum parties

Until the 1980s, criticism of membership continued to come mainly from the ranks of the Labor Party and the unions. That changed after European politicians, especially Jacques Delors , Helmut Kohl and others, pleaded for a more far-reaching political union of European states. Margaret Thatcher, however, rejected these plans in a high-profile speech in Bruges in 1988 . Nonetheless, she was in favor of the pound joining the European Monetary System in October 1990 .

The drafting and signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 intensified these internal party discussions, as it envisaged not only a single market but also a monetary union and the creation of a broader political union. The opponents of Maastricht also rallied outside the Conservative Party: the billionaire Sir James Goldsmith founded the Referendum Party in 1994 , which collapsed when he died in 1997, and the historian Alan Sked founded the Anti-Federalist League in 1991 , which later became the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) emerged and became famous through the television presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk . UKIP called for a nationwide referendum on the UK's continued EU membership right from the start.

UKIP continued to gain approval in opinion polls. In the general election, however, this was not expressed in the form of parliamentary mandates, as UKIP was severely disadvantaged by the current relative majority voting rights. UKIP drew its voters primarily from the Conservative Party in southern England and from the Labor Party in northern England and Wales. The government came under increasing pressure. Conservative MP Douglas Carswell defected to UKIP in 2014 and was confirmed by a by-election in his constituency. In the same year, UKIP was the strongest British party in the European Parliament elections with 27.5% of the vote, ahead of the Conservatives and Labor, but with a turnout of only 36%.

Attitude of the British parties

In view of the growth of the EU-skeptical UKIP, the question of a possible EU membership referendum was also brought to the British Prime Minister. The Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron , who has been in office since the 2010 general election, initially flatly rejected calls for a referendum, but finally, under the pressure of the increasingly unfavorable opinion polls, declared on January 23, 2013 that, if he would still be Prime Minister, he would be within the year at the latest In 2017, such a referendum on whether the country would remain in the EU would be held. Before that, he wanted to negotiate with his European partners in order to reform the EU in line with British ideas.

The EU-critical parties UKIP and British National Party (BNP) welcomed the announcement of the referendum. The Green Party of England and Wales , which in principle was in favor of remaining in the EU, also supported the concept of the referendum as an “opportunity to build a better Europe”. The Respect Party , which describes itself as pro-European, also supported the plan and called the present Europe “an undemocratic plutocracy , a Europe of bankers” (“EU is an undemocratic plutocracy , a bankers' Europe”), which must be changed. The Labor Party, under the leadership of Ed Miliband , rejected the concept of the referendum from 2010 to 2015 unless another transfer of powers from London to Brussels was pending. The pro-European Liberal Democrats also spoke out against a referendum in their election manifesto before the 2015 election if no changes to the European treaties are expected.

Cameron's EU reform negotiations 2014–2016

Prime Minister David Cameron promised to hold a referendum in 2013 at the latest

In early 2014, Prime Minister David Cameron outlined the reforms he wanted to achieve for the EU and for the relationship between the EU and the UK. These were: additional immigration controls, especially for new EU members; stricter immigration rules for current EU citizens; a collective veto right of national EU parliaments against EU legislative proposals; new free trade agreements and a reduction in bureaucracy for companies; a reduction in the influence of the European Court of Human Rights on the UK police and judiciary; more power for the individual EU member states and less for the EU headquarters; a rejection of the EU principle of an “ever closer union”. Cameron wanted to achieve these reforms through a series of negotiations with EU leaders and then, if re-elected, announce a referendum.

After months of intensive negotiations with all European heads of government, Cameron announced on February 2, 2016 that his negotiations were provisionally concluded. Details still have to be worked out, but the preliminary result of the negotiations “is impressive”. The individual elements of the agreement negotiated between EU Council President Donald Tusk and David Cameron were specified in a letter from Tusk to the members of the European Council , which was published on February 2, 2016. Specifically, the agreed points included the reduction of entitlements to social benefits for migrants from EU countries in the United Kingdom, the assurance that the United Kingdom would retain an opt-out right in the event of a possible future contractual deepening of the European Union, as well as agreements that the non-euro countries would in future not be placed in a worse position in the EU than the countries that introduced the euro as their currency. Further agreements included increasing the competitiveness of the EU and fighting terrorism, if necessary through single-handed national measures. After the preliminary agreement was announced, Cameron traveled to various European countries, including Denmark and Poland, to seek approval for the agreements. A European Council meeting in Brussels was convened for final negotiations and decision- making and began on February 18, 2016. Late in the evening of February 19, 2016, after more than 18 hours of negotiations, the EU heads of government announced that an agreement had been reached. The United Kingdom has been allowed to provide workers from other EU countries with the same benefits as British citizens for four years for the next seven years. If the children live abroad, the amount of child benefit paid should be linked to the cost of living there. This regulation should also be able to be used by other EU states from 2020. The state concerned must first justify the restrictions with an “emergency” of the social system and obtain permission from the EU Commission . It was also stated that the United Kingdom does not have to participate in further European integration and does not have to introduce the euro in the future either; these are provisions that were basically already contained in the 2007 Lisbon Treaty . Cameron's demand for a greater say in decisions in the euro area was countered in the summit declaration by stating that London has no right of veto in matters relating to the monetary union.

The Leave campaign saw Cameron's EU reform negotiations as a failure - right after the summit, London's former Mayor Boris Johnson , a member of the Conservative Party, declared that he would join the campaign to leave the EU. Together with the “Vote Leave” chief strategist Dominic Cummings, he spread the false claim that the EU is costing the UK 350 million pounds every week, which should be better invested in the National Health Service . The actual sum is, according to information from the British Treasury, taking into account the British discount , a gross amount of 252 million pounds. Johnson and his colleagues stressed that immigration must be brought under control along the lines of the Australian model. The Remain campaign (mainly Cameron and his Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne) mostly concealed the outcome of the EU negotiations on immigration, as EU Commission President Juncker noted, and concentrated on economic arguments.

After the referendum, representatives of the European Council, the EU Commission and the European Parliament declared the results of the negotiations with Great Britain to be “invalid”. There will be no renegotiations.

Legal bases

To make the referendum possible in the UK and Gibraltar , two pieces of legislation have been adopted. The European Union Referendum Act 2015 was passed by the House of Commons of the UK Parliament and received royal consent on December 17, 2015. The European Union (Referendum) Act 2016 was passed by the Gibraltar Parliament and received royal consent on December 17, 2015 January 28, 2016. The planned referendum was included in the royal speech from the throne on May 27, 2015. At the second reading of the EU Referendum Act on June 9, 2015, members of the House of Commons voted 544 to 53 in favor of the referendum law. Only members of the Scottish National Party voted against the law.

Framework

Time of the referendum

In his announcement of the referendum, the Prime Minister said that the referendum should take place “by the end of 2017 at the latest”. Cameron justified this vague statement by saying that it was uncertain when his negotiations on reforming the EU would come to an end. At the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, there were increasing signs that the referendum would take place in 2016. In a speech on December 18, 2015, Cameron said that the UK is facing important decisions in 2016; 2016 is the year of EU reform. In an interview on January 10, 2016, he reiterated his confidence that he would conclude his negotiations with the EU in February 2016. At the same time, he refused to resign if there was a majority vote in favor of leaving the EU. After the preliminary conclusion of Cameron's negotiations with top EU politicians in early February 2016, commentators speculated that the referendum could take place in June 2016. The three First Ministers of Scotland ( Nicola Sturgeon ), Wales ( Carwyn Jones ) and Northern Ireland ( Arlene Foster ) opposed this , as the elections to the regional parliaments of Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland were scheduled for May 5, 2016 . The close succession of such different election events could confuse voters.

On February 20, Cameron named June 23, 2016 as the date of the referendum.

Question of the referendum

Sample of a voting slip

Various formulations were discussed for the question of the referendum. The Electoral Commission , a commission set up by the British Parliament, proposed the following "as neutral and understandable wording as possible" on September 1, 2015:

“Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?
O Remain a member of the European Union
O Leave the European Union ”

“Should the UK remain a member of the European Union or should it leave the European Union?
O remain a member of the European Union
O leave the European Union "

- Electoral Commission : proposal on the referendum question

Or in Welsh language :

“A ddylai'r Deyrnas Unedig aros yn aelod o'r Undeb Ewropeaidd new adael yr Undeb Ewropeaidd?
O Aros yn aelod o'r Undeb Ewropeaidd
O Gadael yr Undeb Ewropeaidd "

The Cameron administration accepted the Electoral Commission's proposal on the same day.

Suffrage

The overall results of the referendum in the UK and Gibraltar were announced in Manchester Town Hall by Chief Counting Officer Jenny Watson.

According to the European Union Referendum Act 2015 , all British citizens in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland over the age of 18 were entitled to vote. Citizens of the Commonwealth of Nations, Gibraltar, and Republic of Ireland nationals who are permanently resident in the United Kingdom were also eligible to vote . The number of Commonwealthy voters in the United Kingdom has been estimated at 894,000 to over 960,000. This regulation provoked criticism. Critics have suggested that only British citizens should vote on vital British interests. The voting behavior of people without British citizenship was assessed differently. Some suspected that voters from Ireland, Cyprus and Malta would be more likely to vote against “Brexit” because their home states are EU members. Others pointed out that voters from the non-European Commonwealth of Nations (e.g. India and Australia ) might be more inclined to vote in favor of leaving the EU, as the UK would change politically and economically after leaving the EU would increasingly be oriented towards the Commonwealth.

UK citizens living abroad (“expats”) who had registered to vote in UK elections within the last 15 years were also allowed to vote. However, anyone who had lived abroad for over 15 years was excluded from voting; it is estimated that more than 60% of the approximately 4.9 million Britons living abroad are involved. Citizens of EU countries were not eligible to vote, even if they had lived in the country for decades or were married to a British person. Residents of the crown possessions of the British Crown ( Isle of Man , Channel Islands ) were also not eligible to vote , as they are not members of the European Union. The residents of overseas territories such as Anguilla were also not allowed to vote.

In order to be able to vote, the voter had to be registered in the electoral register. Registration for participation in the voting could originally take place until the evening of June 7, 2016; registration was also possible online. The last deadlines for applying for a postal vote were June 3, 2016 (Northern Ireland) and June 8, 2016 (Rest of the United Kingdom). Politicians from different directions expressed the fear that many potential voters might miss the registration date. Before the last general election in 2015, 186,000 applications for voter registration were not considered because they were received too late. In 2014, 7.5 million people were not entered in the electoral register. After the website for online registration was temporarily unavailable due to a computer breakdown on the evening of June 7, 2016, the deadline for registering voters was extended to the end of June 9, 2016. A total of 437,000 voter registration applications were received on June 8 and 9, 2016. The extension of the registration deadline has been criticized by some Brexit supporters like Arron Banks as a violation of the rules. Young voters in particular, who are more likely to be in favor of EU membership, registered late.

Campaign before the referendum

Opinion polls:

remain

leave

draw

United Kingdom Migration Statistics.
The number in thousands of people per previous year is plotted over time.
The “Brexit” proponents hoped that an exit from the EU would curb immigration to the United Kingdom from the EU, in which the principle of free movement of workers applies.

Labor In for Britain logo

Labor Leave logo

In the run-up to the upcoming vote, various interest groups were formed to campaign for or against leaving the EU.

On January 23, 2016, the founding of a bipartisan group Grassroots Out to promote the EU's exit was announced. The group includes Nigel Farage (UKIP), Labor politician Kate Hoey and former Conservative Minister Liam Fox . The interest group Vote Leave and Leave.EU , which was founded in October 2015 and are also cross-party active, have been campaigning for the exit for a long time . In the Labourleave initiative , people who are close to the Labor Party or belong to it gathered to promote the EU's exit. On the side of membership advocates, the Conservatives for Reform in Europe group was formed in the ranks of the Conservative Party under the leadership of former Minister Nick Herbert . The largest bipartisan membership support group is Britain Stronger in Europe, led by Stuart Rose . In the Business for New Europe initiative, business representatives were formed who advocate remaining in the EU.

On April 13, 2016, the Electoral Commission recognized the two associations Vote Leave and Britain Stronger in Europe as the leading campaign organizations for the United Kingdom to leave or remain in the EU. They received £ 700,000 in tax revenue and a certain amount of television advertising time. Both organizations were eligible to spend up to £ 7 million in the election campaign, while other organizations were severely limited.

There had previously been disputes between the Vote-Leave , led by the conservatives Boris Johnson and Michael Gove and the German-born Labor MP Gisela Stuart - and the grassroots-out grouping, which was mainly led by UKIP under Nigel Farage, as to who was leading the EU opponents' campaign and what tactics should be followed. The electoral commission justified its decision in favor of Vote Leave with a greater organizational capacity and broader coverage of the spectrum of opinions (greater depth of representation) through Vote Leave. Arron Banks, the multimillionaire and main financier of Leave.EU, the movement that had also hoped to be recognized as the official campaign organization of the EU opponents, announced that it would have the decision of the electoral commission legally examined.

In Great Britain, the two political camps were mostly dubbed Remain (for staying) and Leave (for leaving), in line with the question raised in the referendum on June 23, 2016 - there was also the term Bremain as a counterpart to the term Brexit . The in campaign and the out campaign were used colloquially .

On Thursday June 16, 2016, Labor MP Jo Cox was killed by a gun and knife attack in her constituency of Batley and Spen . The mentally disturbed assassin (a 52-year-old man named Thomas Mair) who shouted "Britain first" was arrested. MEP Cox advocated ethnic diversity in her constituency, EU membership and, in particular, a no-fly zone in Syria. Both camps immediately suspended their election campaigns, first until Saturday, then until the parliamentary memorial session on Monday. Coincidentally, a few hours before the attack, Nigel Farage unveiled his controversial "Breaking Point" poster, which showed a long line of male refugees at the Slovenian border in October 2015 ; after protests it was withdrawn the same day. Brexit supporters like Michael Gove also distanced themselves from the action.

Also very controversial was the repeated claim made by Vote Leave that the UK is transferring £ 350 million a week to the EU. EU membership supporters accused the Brexit supporters of operating with wrong numbers; the true transfer sum is £ 248 million per week. Ex-Prime Minister John Major called the campaign Vote Leave "fraudulent" (deceitful) . Regardless of the criticism, Vote Leave continued to claim that the transfer amount mentioned was correct.

The Premier League , popular in England , came out in favor of the United Kingdom remaining in the European Union a few days before the vote.

Immigration and the economy were the main themes of the two camps. Uncontrolled immigration, in which foreigners from poorer countries poured into the UK because they gave up control of their own borders, was the central argument of supporters of Brexit; their catchphrases were Take back control ("regain control!") and I want my country back ("I want my country back"). The opponents tried to put the positive economic influences of the EU in the foreground ( Britain stronger in Europe - "Britain is stronger than part of Europe!").

EU Commission President Juncker noted shortly before election day that the reform package negotiated with Cameron had played no role in the debate on Brexit in recent months; he ruled out renegotiations. Exactly a month after the referendum, BBC Newsnight revealed that Cameron had spoken to Chancellor Merkel on the phone in the days leading up to the election to ask for a public pledge from EU leaders (Juncker, French President Hollande and Council of Europe President Donald Tusk ) on migration control but eventually gave up on this plan.

Positions of parties, politicians and the media

Political parties

Most political parties published an official voting recommendation. In some parties, especially in the Labor Party, there were prominent politicians who publicly took a different view than the official party line. The Conservative Party did not publish a voting recommendation.

Official political positions of the parties

Political party		Part of the country	For a further stay in the EU	Ref.
	Liberal Democrats	Great Britain	Yes
	Labor Party	Great Britain	Yes
	Green Party of England and Wales	England and Wales	Yes
	Scottish Green Party	Scotland	Yes
	Green Party in Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	Yes
	Plaid Cymru	Wales	Yes
	Scottish National Party	Scotland	Yes
	Sinn Fein	Northern Ireland	Yes
	Social Democratic and Labor Party	Northern Ireland	Yes
	Alliance Party	Northern Ireland	Yes
	Ulster Unionist Party	Northern Ireland	Yes
	Conservative party	United Kingdom	Neutral
	Democratic Unionist Party	Northern Ireland	No
	Traditional Unionist Voice	Northern Ireland	No
	UK Independence Party	United Kingdom	No

Remarks

1. ↑ This refers to the parts of the United Kingdom in which the party concerned is running in elections.

Among the smaller parties, the Respect Party , the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), Independence from Europe , and the British National Party (BNP) advocated leaving the EU. The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) spoke out in favor of remaining in the EU.

Individual politicians

William Hague, former party leader of the Conservatives, was in favor of remaining in the EU

Norman Tebbit, former Conservative party leader, a supporter of leaving the EU

Boris Johnson (2015), a leader of the Brexit Campaign

Individual prominent politicians made their point of view, which did not always correspond to the official party recommendation, publicly clear. The following lists politicians who wanted to vote against the official party line or whose party published official voting recommendations.

Viewpoints of individual politicians

Politician	Political party	Remain in the EU	Ref.
Michael Heseltine	Conservatives	Yes
John Major	Conservatives	Yes
William Hague	Conservatives	Yes
David Willetts	Conservatives	Yes
Kenneth Clarke	Conservatives	Yes
Nigel Lawson	Conservatives	No
Norman Lamont	Conservatives	No
Daniel Hannan	Conservatives	No
Norman Tebbit	Conservatives	No
Michael Howard	Conservatives	No
Jacob Rees-Mogg	Conservatives	No
Liam Fox	Conservatives	No
Chris Grayling	Conservatives	No
Boris Johnson	Conservatives	No
Zac Goldsmith	Conservatives	No
Austin Mitchell	Labor	No
Gisela Stuart	Labor	No
Lewis Moonie	Labor	No
Jenny Jones	Green Party (E & W)	No

The statement by London Mayor Boris Johnson on February 21, 2016 that he would support the campaign to leave the EU was rated as a severe blow to the prime minister's pro-EU campaign. Although he was not cabinet minister, he attended cabinet meetings without a portfolio. Johnson became a leading figure among the EU opponents. He was considered one of three people in the Conservative Party who could inherit David Cameron politically (next to Theresa May and George Osborne ).

Prime Minister Cameron

Prime Minister Cameron released the ministers in his cabinet , all of them Tories , from voting, so he released them from cabinet discipline. This policy of the Prime Minister was also criticized. A different voting behavior on such a crucial issue could easily develop into a general leadership crisis in the government, which has only had a narrow majority (331 of 650 seats) in the lower house since the 2015 election . The government majority and the authority of the Prime Minister could easily fall apart over the European disputes, similar to what was the case with the Conservative government under John Major in the late 1990s . It was also discussed whether David Cameron could still remain Prime Minister if the referendum decision was not to remain in the EU, i. That is, whether it makes sense for a Prime Minister who is firmly in favor of EU membership to negotiate the terms of leaving the EU. When Douglas Carswell asked in the House of Commons on April 13, 2016 whether Cameron would remain Prime Minister if the referendum against the EU were to fail, Cameron answered with a curt “Yes!”. Even ministers from his cabinet who campaigned for Brexit, such as Chris Grayling and Theresa Villiers, spoke out in favor of Cameron remaining prime minister as "part of a team" even in the event of a Brexit; others expressed doubts. Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke said the Prime Minister would “not stay in office for 30 seconds” if he lost the referendum (“… wouldn't last 30 seconds if he lost the referendum”).

minister

After David Cameron had concluded his negotiations with the EU partners in Brussels, he announced the date of the referendum the following day, February 20, 2016, and at the same time appealed to the electorate to vote to remain in the EU. In a sense, this was also the starting signal for the members of his cabinet to make their own points of view clear. Previously, most of the ministers had been disciplined with the argument that, given the ongoing negotiations, they should not pass a judgment, but should wait for the outcome of the same.

Attitude of the Cabinet Ministers in the Cameron II Cabinet

Cabinet member	Post	Remain in the EU?
David Cameron	prime minister	Yes
George Osborne	Chancellor (Chancellor)	Yes
Theresa May	Home Secretary (Home Secretary)	Yes
Philip Hammond	Foreign Minister (Foreign Secretary)	Yes
Sajid Javid	Minister of Economy, Innovation and qualification (Business, Innovation and Skills Secretary)	Yes
Stephen Crabb	Minister for Wales (Welsh Secretary)	Yes
Justine Greening	Minister for International Development Cooperation (International Development Secretary)	Yes
Jeremy Hunt	Health Secretary	Yes
Greg Clark	Minister for Communities and Local Government (Communities and Local Government Secretary)	Yes
Patrick McLoughlin	Transport Secretary	Yes
Elizabeth Truss	Environment Secretary	Yes
Oliver Letwin	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster)	Yes
Nicky Morgan	Education Secretary	Yes
David Mundell	Minister for Scotland (Scotland Secretary)	Yes
Baroness Stowell	Chairman of the upper house (House of Lords Leader)	Yes
Michael Fallon	Defense (Defense Secretary)	Yes
Amber Rudd	Minister for Energy and Climate Change (Energy and Climate Change Secretary)	Yes
Iain Duncan Smith	Minister of Labor and Pensions (resigned March 18, 2016) (Work and Pensions Secretary)	No
Chris Grayling	Leader in the lower house (Leader of the House of Commons)	No
John Whittingdale	Minister of Culture, Media and Sport (Culture, Media and Sport Secretary)	No
Theresa Villiers	Minister for Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland Secretary)	No
Michael Gove	Justice Secretary	No

MPs

Probable voting behavior of the elected lower house members according to constituencies
(as of March 21, 2016) for further EU membership against further EU membership no clear statement




As of March 21, 2016, 162 conservative MPs had spoken out in favor of remaining in the EU and 130 against. At the Labor Party , the ratio was 215: 7.

All MEPs from the Scottish National Party (54), the Liberal Democrats (8), the Northern Irish SDLP (3) and the Welsh Plaid Cymru (3) were in favor of remaining in the EU . Against this was the entire faction of the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (8).

Some MPs had not yet made their opinion public.

British media

Press organ	Remain in the EU	Ref.
The Economist	Yes
The Guardian	Yes
The Observer	Yes
Financial Times	Yes
Daily Express	No
Daily Mail	No
The Spectator	No
The Sun	No

Gibraltar

The residents of Gibraltar were also eligible to vote in the referendum. In contrast to the United Kingdom, there was broad consensus among politicians there that remaining in the European Union would be the more favorable perspective. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo , the party leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labor Party (GSLP), said in a statement that there was “no reasonable alternative” to EU membership for Gibraltar. His deputy Joseph Garcia, party leader of the Liberal Party (LPG), agreed and the opposition leader Daniel Feetham of the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) also welcomed the result of David Cameron's negotiations with his EU partners.

International perspective in advance

Almost all of the major international institutions and states were in favor of keeping the United Kingdom in the EU. During his state visit to the United Kingdom from April 22 to 25, 2016, US President Barack Obama made it unequivocally clear that the United States preferred the United Kingdom to remain in the EU. In the event of leaving the EU, the United Kingdom would have to be " at the back of the queue " and, regardless of the special relationship between the two countries, could not expect to receive preferential treatment when concluding a trade agreement . The UK had greater political weight within the EU than outside. The leaders of the Brexit campaign criticized the statements. Nigel Farage assumed a subliminal anti-British stance on Obama because of his Kenyan father. During a state visit on May 5, 2016, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned that Brexit could lead to fewer Japanese investments flowing into the UK. At the G7 summit in Ise-Shima in 2016 , the heads of state and government adopted a joint statement saying that "the UK's departure from the EU will reverse the trend towards increased global trade, investment and the jobs it creates" and would pose "another serious risk to economic growth". The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said in an analysis that leaving the EU would amount to an additional tax (“ Brexit tax ”). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also warned of a Brexit, which could seriously damage the economy of Europe and the world.

Russia made no official statement. In the media, however, President Vladimir Putin was implied that he would welcome the United Kingdom's departure from the EU, as this would suit his political calculation of weakening the EU or even dissolving it into individual states. In retrospect, as was the case later in the US elections this year , it was even possible to demonstrate that Russia was exerting a targeted influence in favor of the Brexit supporters. This was allegedly carried out by unit 29155 of the Russian military intelligence service GRU .

Various international media spoke out in favor of the United Kingdom remaining in the EU and also referred to prominent Brexit opponents from Great Britain. A contribution by the British comedian John Oliver , who works in the USA, received a great deal of international and media attention. Four days before the referendum, he addressed the arguments of the Brexit supporters in a quarter of an hour on his program Last Week Tonight and advocated remaining in the EU . His contribution was published on the Internet a few hours later and taken up in the media around the world due to its high number of views. A large number of civil society initiatives across Europe also spoke out in favor of the United Kingdom remaining in the EU. Including the open letter "#EuropeLovesUK", which more than 57,000 people signed online, and Facebook campaigns such as "Britain, please stay" or "#Wewouldmissyou".

Results

→ Main article : Election results of the referendum on whether the United Kingdom should remain in the European Union

Registered voters and turnout

On June 21, 2016, two days before the vote, the UK Electoral Commission announced the number of voters who had registered for the election by June 9, 2016 (the deadline). A total of 46,475,420 eligible voters were entered on the electoral roll, more than two million more than in the last general election in 2015 (44,441,081 at the time) and the largest number of voters in the history of British elections.

In the end, 33,578,016 voters voted, making the turnout 72.2%. After deducting 26,033 invalid votes, 33,551,983 votes were evaluated. There are different figures about voter turnout by age: According to Sky Data, participation in the referendum increased with the age of the voters, and the majority of the under 25s in particular stayed away from the vote. According to a study by the London School of Economics , participation in relation to registered voters was significantly higher in the younger age group.

Overall result

Vote for	voices	percent
Remain in the EU	16.141.241	48.11
Leaving the EU	17,410,742	51.89
Valid votes	33,551,983	99.92
Invalid votes, blank ballot papers	26,033	0.08
Total votes	33,578,016	100.00
Registered voters and participation	46,499,537	72.21

Number of registered voters and votes Part of the country Eligible voters Valid votes England 38,956,824 28.415.402 72.9% Scotland 3,988,492 2,679,513 67.2% Wales 2,270,743 1,626,719 71.6% Northern Ireland 1,260,955 790.149 62.7% Gibraltar 24,117 20,145 83.5% total 46,499,537 33,551,983 72.2%

Participation by age group according to the London School of Economics (registered voters only) Age Participation 18-24 64% 25-39 65% 40-54 66% 55-64 74% 65+ 90%

Reactions to the referendum

Immediate reactions

The morning after the referendum, Prime Minister Cameron announced his resignation for October 2016.

In a joint statement, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker , President of the European Council Donald Tusk , President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz , and Council President and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called on the British government to comply with the wishes of British voters and no time to waste to shorten the period of uncertainty.

The First Minister of Scotland , Nicola Sturgeon , found it unacceptable that Scotland should automatically leave the EU with England, even though the majority of Scottish voters had voted to remain. According to her, another referendum on Scottish independence is "very likely".

In Northern Ireland , too, there are efforts to leave the United Kingdom after the referendum. The Irish Republican party Sinn Féin called for a referendum in Northern Ireland, which should decide on the reunification with the Republic of Ireland . There have also been isolated reports of an unusually high number of applications for a Republic of Ireland passport for citizens of Northern Ireland.

In view of the very pro-European vote of the people of Gibraltar, the Spanish government called for the establishment of a joint British-Spanish administration of Gibraltar.

Some right-wing populist parties in Europe , such as AfD (Germany), FPÖ (Austria), FN (France) and PVV (Netherlands), responded positively to Brexit. After the result became known, the FN and PVV also called for referendums in their countries.

Developments in political parties

On June 30, 2016, Boris Johnson surprisingly announced that he was not seeking the office of British Prime Minister (which is linked to the office of chairman of the Conservative Party ). In applying for the successor to David Cameron, Theresa May emerged victorious from the party's internal voting rounds. She became Prime Minister on July 13th and formed a new cabinet .

On July 4, 2016, Nigel Farage surprisingly announced his resignation as UKIP chairman. Farage and Johnson are considered to be the two politicians who made the greatest contribution to the majority of voters for a Brexit.

There was a power struggle in the Labor Party . Several MPs announced that they would seek a vote of no confidence in chairman Jeremy Corbyn , whose poorly committed election campaign they held responsible for the outcome of the vote. Angela Eagle announced her candidacy to fight Jeremy Corbyn.

economy

As a result of the referendum result, the rate of the British pound fell from 1.50 US dollars on the evening of the voting day to 1.32 US dollars on June 27, 2016, the lowest exchange rate against the US dollar in 31 years and a minus of 12 Percent. The FTSE 250 Index , which mainly contains UK stocks, fell 7% on Friday, June 24, 2016 and another 7% the following Monday, the highest loss in 29 years. On June 29, 2016, the index returned to its pre-referendum level. According to reports from some business media, the pound loss had the statistical side effect that the UK economy briefly slipped from fifth place to sixth place (behind France) on the list of the world's largest economies, which it had "overtaken" in 2014. Major rating agencies lowered the UK's rating : Standard & Poor’s from AAA to AA, Fitch from AA + to AA, and Moody’s lowered its outlook to “negative”.

Online petition for a second referendum

When the result of the referendum became known, an online petition aimed at repeating the referendum received support. The petition was launched on May 25, more than four weeks before the referendum. The text of the petition read:

"We the undersigned call upon HM Government to implement a rule that if the Remain or Leave vote is less than 60 per cent based a turnout less than 75 per cent there should be another referendum."

"We, the undersigned, call on the government to make the following arrangements: If the result of the vote in favor of staying or leaving is less than 60 percent and a turnout of less than 75 percent, a second referendum should take place."

The vote was carried out on a website jointly run by the UK Government and Parliament . The number of signatures passed the threshold of 100,000 votes on June 24th, so the petition has to be debated in parliament . In addition, the government is obliged to respond with a public statement. On June 25, two million British citizens or foreigners living there had already signed the petition; on June 27, the number was 3.6 million. The lack of a captcha identification test on the voting page enabled bots to automatically vote thousands of times. Tens of thousands of votes were recognized as manipulated and removed.

On July 9, the State Department announced that the government had rejected the petition; the result of the referendum on June 23 must be respected and implemented. Formally, the House of Commons is the addressee of the petition. The British petition law requires him to give an opinion on the start of a parliamentary debate when the mark of 100,000 signatures is exceeded. By July 10, four million Internet users had voted for the petition (more than 77,000 forged signatures were found). On July 12th, the Committee on Petitions in the House of Commons announced that the proposal for the petition would be debated in Westminster Hall on September 5th . However, the committee pointed out that this debate would not lead to a decision by the House of Commons on a second referendum. It is also not possible to subsequently change the rules for the referendum, which has already taken place. It is up to the government to decide whether to launch a second referendum.

Theories on the outcome of the referendum

There are many attempts to explain why the UK electorate voted to leave.

EU-related interpretation

The Irish historian Brendan Simms (University of Cambridge) diagnosed as early as July 2015 in an interview with the Basler Zeitung that the British had little interest in deepening the European network because they “didn't need it at all”: Europe was the solution for one Problem which the United Kingdom, unlike the countries of the continent, has never had. While Britain has not suffered a military defeat for centuries, in continental Europe almost all states with the exception of Switzerland have been defeated or occupied in various wars, have been perpetrators or victims. After the Second World War, the view prevailed in continental Europe, with justification, that national politics could not go on like this. The British don't need Europe. Europe would rather need the United Kingdom.

The Swiss- British historian Oliver Zimmer (University of Oxford) recommended the “dismantling of the EU” a few days after the exit referendum . For him, the lack of self-determination of the member states of the EU as a result of the too far advanced European integration is the reason for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom. In contrast to Simms, the decisive factor for him is that the people in Europe as a whole have little interest in turning the Union into a "state" and giving up their original nation-states in return. He therefore spoke out in favor of a selective reversal of integration: abolition of the euro as a currency and abolition of the free movement of persons.

Interpretation of national crisis phenomena

The British German scholar Nicholas Boyle (University of Cambridge) explains Brexit as the result of a crisis in English identity that arose because there was no coming to terms with the past . The identity is based on English nationalism and the concepts of Britishness and British exceptionalism , which in turn are nourished by an imperialist idea of ​​the British world empire . With these constructs , the English would have convinced other nations in the British Isles, the Welsh , Scots and Irish or Northern Irish to participate in the establishment of the British Empire. The unprocessed trauma of the fall of the world empire caused an "English psychosis ", a narcissistic disorder. The leave vote was marked by persistent notions of preference and a nostalgia for the global role of England. On this basis, the globalization of the United Kingdom and a link to the concept of the Commonwealth of Nations are advertised as an alternative to the European Union.

The British philosopher Raymond Geuss (University of Cambridge) describes the result of the Brexit referendum as a “rage” of disadvantaged people, especially in the areas of England affected by deindustrialization . The exit proponents had succeeded in making the EU the scapegoat for the misery of this group. Another factor was solid xenophobia , which flared up as eurosceptic sentiment after the EU showed itself unable to cope with the refugee crisis in Europe .

In addition to the factual questions about the economic and political benefits of EU membership for the United Kingdom, there was a year-long, Europe-wide boom of right-wing populist tendencies and an anti- establishment mood. The contrast between “liberal internationalists” and “authoritarian nationalists” is suspected of having influenced the voting decision of both Brexiteers and EU supporters more than objective considerations of benefit.

Monetary Policy Interpretation

The increasingly loose monetary policies of the Bank of England and the European Central Bank are blamed for the decline in productivity advances and growth; the inequality of distribution is increased. This has resulted in a smoldering dissatisfaction among growing sections of the population, which favors political polarization and protest votes such as Brexit. Further exits from the EU cannot be ruled out if monetary policies in Europe remain expansionary.

Exit procedure

→ Main article : UK withdrawal from the EU

On March 29, 2017, Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, submitted the application to leave the EU in accordance with Article 50 of the EU Treaty of Lisbon to EU Council President Donald Tusk, thus initiating the United Kingdom's exit from the EU. The EU left the EU on January 31, 2020 (23:00 UTC, 24:00 CET).

Web links

Commons : UK EU membership referendum  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

 Wikinews: Great Britain votes for Brexit  - message

• EU referendum , BBC website
• Results , BBC website, results

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Who can vote in the referendum? , gov.uk., UK Government website
2. ↑ EU referendum results , BBC News, June 24, 2016
3. ↑ ^{a b} Andreas Rüesch: After the EU referendum: How does the exit work in practice? , Neue Zürcher Zeitung from June 24, 2016.
4. ↑ bbc.co.uk
5. ↑ We have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of the state in Britain, only to see them re-imposed at a European level, with a European super-state exercising a new dominance from Brussels. We have not successfully pushed back the borders of the state in Britain, only to have them put back on at the European level, by a European superstate that is exercising a new dominance from Brussels.
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69. ↑ Europe. (No longer available online.) Plaid Cymru, archived from the original on June 17, 2016 ; accessed on January 10, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
70. ↑ Nicola Sturgeon warns of EU exit 'backlash' - BBC News. BBC News, accessed June 12, 2015 . 
71. ↑ Alex Salmond: I'll campaign with Tories to stay in EU. Telegraph.co.uk, accessed May 27, 2015 . 
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74. ^ Dickson - An EU referendum will threaten jobs and investment in Northern Ireland. (No longer available online.) The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, May 14, 2015, archived from the original on November 17, 2015 ; accessed on December 8, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
75. ^ Alliance expresses concerns over referendum idea. (No longer available online.) The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, April 29, 2015, archived from the original on November 17, 2015 ; accessed on December 8, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
76. ↑ Ulster Unionists in favor of staying within EU. BBC News, March 5, 2016, accessed March 5, 2016 . 
77. ↑ Conservative Party to stay neutral during the EU referendum. Daily Telegraph, September 21, 2015, accessed September 24, 2015 . 
78. ↑ Donald Tusk. The Guardian, accessed January 10, 2016 . 
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84. ^ Watch: Discuss policies, not personalities, says Galloway. BBC News, January 22, 2016, accessed January 22, 2016 . 
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86. ↑ Mike Nattrass : An independence from Europe YouTube Video. April 19, 2014, accessed March 12, 2016 . 
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115. ^ Daniel Hannan: What Brexit would look like for Britain: Life outside the EU could be very good for us. The Spectator, January 23, 2016, accessed January 25, 2016 . 
116. ^ David Wooding: Sorry Dave, but we don't trust EU to get Britain better deal. The Sun, March 23, 2014, accessed January 25, 2016 . 
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118. ↑ Gibraltar backs Cameron in lead-up to EU referendum. (No longer available online.) Gibraltar Chronicle, February 23, 2016, archived from the original on March 7, 2016 ; accessed on February 23, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
119. ↑ Barack Obama says Brexit would leave UK at the 'back of the queue' on trade. BBC News, April 22, 2016, accessed May 6, 2016 . 
120. ↑ Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe warns Brexit could hit foreign investment. The Telegraph , May 5, 2016, accessed May 5, 2016 . 
121. ↑ Brexit would pose 'serious risk' to global growth, say G7 leaders. The Guardian, May 27, 2016, accessed on May 27, 2016 (original text: " UK exit from the EU would reverse the trend toward greater global trade, investment and the jobs they create and is a further serious risk to growth " ). 
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123. ↑ IMF: EU exit could cause severe damage. BBC News, April 12, 2016, accessed May 6, 2016 . 
124. ↑ Guy Verhofstadt : Putin will be rubbing his hands at the prospect of Brexit. The Guardian, January 5, 2016, accessed May 6, 2016 . 
125. ↑ Ben Judah: Those who call for Brexit are handing European power to the Kremlin. The Independent , March 9, 2016, accessed May 6, 2016 . 
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128. ↑ Der Spiegel (Hamburg): Russia's Right-Wing Friends , report by Benjamin Bidder, February 4, 2016.
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138. ↑ Rebecca Flood: Sturgeon plots to RIP BRITAIN APART: SNP demands Scotland independence after EU vote , express.co.uk of June 24, 2016.
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143. ↑ Oliver Georgi: Irresponsible Gamers , FAZ.net, July 4, 2016.
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148. ↑ FTSE 100 closes above pre-Brexit level. BBC News, June 29, 2016, accessed June 29, 2016 . 
149. ↑ Tanveer Mann: France overtakes UK as fifth largest economy as pound plummets. metro.co.uk, June 24, 2016, accessed June 27, 2016 . 
150. ↑ Mehreen Khan: Booming Britain to become world's fourth largest economy as France and Italy face G8 exclusion. The Telegraph, December 26, 2015, accessed June 27, 2016 . 
151. ↑ Ratings agencies downgrade UK credit rating after Brexit vote. BBC News, June 27, 2016, accessed June 27, 2016 . 
152. ↑ ^{a b c d} Petition: EU Referendum Rules triggering a 2nd EU Referendum petition.parliament.uk. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
153. ↑ Brexit campaigner admits he set up second EU referendum petition signed by three million people. The Independent , June 26, 2016, accessed June 26, 2016 . 
154. ↑ red / dpa: After the Brexit vote: Brits are calling for a second referendum , Stuttgarter Zeitung of June 24, 2016.
155. ↑ Petition: EU Referendum Rules triggering a 2nd EU Referendum. Accessed June 24, 2016 . 
156. ↑ EU referendum petition hijacked by bots , BBC of June 27, 2016.
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158. ↑ Debate on second EU referendum after millions sign petition. BBC News , July 12, 2016, accessed July 12, 2016 . 
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166. ↑ Sebastian Müller, Gunther Schnabl: The Brexit as a Forerunner: Monetary Policy, Economic Order and Divergence Forces in the European Union . No. 6938 . CESifo Group Munich, 2018 ( repec.org [accessed November 5, 2018]).
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