Britain will leave the European Union in the wee hours tomorrow, ending more than four decades of economic, political and legal integration with its closest neighbours. Three Brexit deadlines came and went before the British parliament finally ratified the divorce agreement.
Brexit was originally scheduled for 29th March last year but was repeatedly delayed when MPs rejected a previous withdrawal agreement reached by the EU and former Prime Minister Theresa May. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was able to get his own deal through Parliament after winning December’s general election with a House of Commons majority of 80, on a pledge to get Brexit done.
This brought to an end more than three years of political argument, following the referendum, in which 52 per cent of voters backed leaving the EU. Britain is to leave the European Union at 2300 GMT, 43 months after the country voted in a June 2016 referendum to leave the EU.
In a video message to be released an hour earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will call Brexit, which follows more than three years of political wrangling a “new dawn”. Nothing will change for most people in Britain thanks to the transition period, which preserves the status quo until at least December 31, 2020. But Britain will lose its representation and voting rights in the EU institutions. This includes having no British members of the European Parliament.
Most EU laws will continue to be in force, including the free movement of people until the end of December, by which time the UK aims to have reached a permanent free trade agreement with the EU. A series of events including marches, celebrations and candlelit vigils will be held by both Brexiteers and pro-EU demonstrators.