United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union

Brexit is a commonly used term for the United Kingdom's planned withdrawal from the European Union. Following the 2016 referendum vote to leave, the UK government started the withdrawal process on 29 March 2017, putting the UK on course to leave by April 2019.

In January 2017, Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, announced a 12-point plan of negotiating objectives and confirmed that the UK government would not seek continued membership in the single market. She has promised a Great Repeal Bill to repeal the European Communities Act and incorporate existing EU laws into UK domestic law. The terms of withdrawal have not yet been negotiated and in the meantime, the UK remains a full member of the European Union.

The UK joined the European Communities (EC), the EU's predecessor, in 1973, confirming its membership in a 1975 referendum. In the 1970s and 1980s, withdrawal from the European Economic Community (EEC) was advocated mainly by Labour Party and trade union figures. From the 1990s, withdrawal from the EU was advocated mainly by the newly founded UK Independence Party (UKIP) and by an increasing number of Conservatives.