Why Britain decided to withdraw from EU?

(Brexit)

Brexit is the forthcoming withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the
European Union (EU). In the June 2016 referendum, 52% voted to leave the EU,
leading into a complex separation process implying political and economic
changes for the UK and other countries. The timetable for withdrawal has not yet
been firmly established. The term "Brexit" is a portmanteau of the words "British"
and "exit".

Withdrawal from the European Union is the legal and political process
whereby a Member state of the European Union (EU) ceases to be a member of the
union. Withdrawal is a right of member states under the Treaty on European Union
(Article 50): "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in
accordance with its own constitutional requirements." Greenland, part of the
Danish Realm, voted to leave the European Union's predecessor, the European
Economic Community (EEC), in 1985. Algeria left upon independence in 1962,
having been a part of France until then.

The United Kingdom held a referendum on 23 June 2016 to decide whether

it should remain a member of the European Union or leave it, which was won by
the "Leave" vote. The voting results showed 51.9% voted to leave (a margin of 3.8
percent points above those voting to remain) and a voting turnout of 72.2%. Prior
to this referendum, the United Kingdom had held a referendum in 1975 on
withdrawal from its predecessor, the EEC; 67.2% of voters chose to remain in the
Community with a turnout of 64.62%.

Withdrawal from the European Union has been a right under Article 50 of
the Treaty on European Union of EU member states since 2007. The details of the
process for the UK's withdrawal are uncertain under EU law – Article 50, which
now governs the withdrawal, has never been used before. Unless extensions are
agreed, the timing for leaving under the article is two years from when Britain
gives official notice, but this official notice was not given immediately following
the referendum in June 2016. The assumption is that during the two-year window
new agreements will be negotiated, but there is no requirement that there be new
agreements. Withdrawal has been the goal of various individuals, advocacy groups,
and political parties since the UK joined the European Economic Community
(EEC), the predecessor of the EU, in 1973, though continued membership of the
EEC was approved in a 1975 referendum by 67% of voters.
 The UK was not a signatory to the Treaty of Rome which created the EEC in
1957. The country subsequently applied to join the organization in 1963 and again
in 1967, but both applications were vetoed by the President of France, Charles de
Gaulle, ostensibly because "a number of aspects of Britain's economy, from
working practices to agriculture" had "made Britain incompatible with Europe"
and that Britain harboured a "deep-seated hostility" to any pan-European project.

Once de Gaulle had relinquished the French presidency, the UK made a third
application for membership, which was successful. Under the Conservative Prime
Minister Edward Heath the European Communities Act 1972 was enacted. On 1
January 1973 the United Kingdom joined the EEC, or "Common Market". The
opposition Labour Party, led by Harold Wilson, contested the October 1974
general election with a commitment to renegotiate Britain's terms of membership
of the EEC and then hold a referendum on whether to remain in the EEC on the
new terms.

In 1975, the United Kingdom held a referendum on whether the UK should

remain in the EEC. All of the major political parties and mainstream press
supported continuing membership of the EEC. However, there were significant
splits within the ruling Labour party, the membership of which had voted 2:1 in
favour of withdrawal at a one-day party conference on 26 April 1975. Since the
cabinet was split between strongly pro-European and strongly anti-European
ministers, Harold Wilson suspended the constitutional convention of Cabinet
collective responsibility and allowed ministers to publicly campaign on either side.
Seven of the twenty-three members of the cabinet opposed EEC membership.

On 5 June 1975, the electorate were asked to vote yes or no on the question:
"Do you think the UK should stay in the European Community (Common
Market)?" Every administrative county in the UK had a majority of "Yes", except
the Shetland Islands and the Outer Hebrides. In line with the outcome of the vote,
67% in favour of staying in, the United Kingdom remained a member of the EEC.
United Kingdom European Community (Common Market)
Membership Referendum 1975

Choice Votes  %

Yes 17,378,581 67.2

No 8,470,073 32.8

Valid votes 25,848,654 99.79

Invalid or blank votes 54,540 0.21

Total votes 25,903,194 100.00

The opposition Labour Party campaigned in the 1983 general election on a

commitment to withdraw from the EEC. It was heavily defeated as the
Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher was re-elected. The Labour Party
subsequently changed its policy. As a result of the Maastricht Treaty, the EEC
became the European Union on 1 November 1993. The new name reflected the
evolution of the organisation from an economic union into a political union.

The European Union - often known as the EU - is an economic and political

partnership involving 28 European countries. It began after World War Two to
foster economic co-operation, with the idea that countries which trade together are
more likely to avoid going to war with each other. It has since grown to become a
"single market" allowing goods and people to move around, basically as if the
member states were one country. It has its own currency, the euro, which is used
by 19 of the member countries, its own parliament and it now sets rules in a wide
range of areas - including on the environment, transport, consumer rights and even
things such as mobile phone charges.

The Referendum Party was formed in 1994 by Sir James Goldsmith to

contest the 1997 general election on a platform of providing a referendum on the
UK's membership of the EU. It fielded candidates in 547 constituencies at that
election and won 810,860 votes, 2.6% of total votes cast. It failed to win a single
parliamentary seat as its vote was spread out, losing its deposit (funded by
Goldsmith) in 505 constituencies.

The UK Independence Party (UKIP), a Eurosceptic political party, was also

formed in 1993. It achieved third place in the UK during the 2004 European
elections, second place in the 2009 European elections and first place in the 2014
European elections, with 27.5% of the total vote. This was the first time since the
1910 general election that any party other than the Labour or Conservative parties
had taken the largest share of the vote in a nationwide election. In 2014, UKIP won
two by-elections, triggered when the sitting Conservative MPs defected to UKIP
and then resigned. These were their first elected MPs. At the 2015 general election
UKIP took 12.6% of the total vote and held one of the two seats won in 2014.

In 2012, Prime Minister David Cameron rejected calls for a referendum on

the UK's EU membership, but suggested the possibility of a future referendum to
gauge public support. According to the BBC, "The prime minister acknowledged
the need to ensure the UK's position within the European Union had 'the full-
hearted support of the British people' but they needed to show 'tactical and
strategic patience'." Under pressure from many of his MPs and from the rise of
UKIP, in January 2013, Cameron announced that a Conservative government
would hold an in–out referendum on EU membership before the end of 2017, on a
renegotiated package, if elected in 2015.

The Conservative Party unexpectedly won the 2015 general election with a
majority. Soon afterwards the European Union Referendum Act 2015 was
introduced into Parliament to enable the referendum. Despite being in favour of
remaining in a reformed European Union himself, Cameron announced that
Conservative Ministers and MPs were free to campaign in favour of remaining in
the EU or leaving it, according to their conscience. This decision came after
mounting pressure for a free vote for ministers. In an exception to the usual rule of
cabinet collective responsibility, Cameron allowed cabinet ministers to campaign
publicly for EU withdrawal. In a speech to the House of Commons on 22 February
2016, Cameron announced a referendum date of 23 June 2016 and set out the legal
framework for withdrawal from the European Union in circumstances where there
was a referendum majority vote to leave, citing Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
Cameron spoke of an intention to trigger the Article 50 process immediately
following a leave vote and of the "two-year time period to negotiate the
arrangements for exit."

The official campaign group for leaving the EU was Vote Leave. Other
major campaign groups included Leave.EU, Grassroots Out, and Better Off Out,
while non-EU affiliated organizations also campaigned for the United Kingdom's
withdrawal, such as the Commonwealth Freedom of Movement Organisation.

The official campaign to stay in the EU, chaired by Stuart Rose, was known
as Britain Stronger in Europe, or informally as Remain. Other campaigns
supporting remaining in the EU included Conservatives In, Labour in for Britain,
#INtogether (Liberal Democrats), Greens for a Better Europe, Scientists for EU,
Environmentalists For Europe, Universities for Europe and Another Europe is
Possible.

A referendum - a vote in which everyone (or nearly everyone) of voting age

can take part - was held on Thursday 23 June, to decide whether the UK should
leave or remain in the European Union. Leave won by 52% to 48%. The
referendum turnout was 71.8%, with more than 30 million people voting.

The UK Independence Party, which received nearly four million votes - 13%
of those cast - in May's general election, has campaigned for many years for
Britain's exit from the EU. They were joined in their call during the referendum
campaign by about half the Conservative Party's MPs, including Boris Johnson and
five members of the then Cabinet. A handful of Labour MPs and Northern Ireland
party the DUP were also in favour of leaving.

They said Britain was being held back by the EU, which they said imposed
too many rules on business and charged billions of pounds a year in membership
fees for little in return. They also wanted Britain to take back full control of its
borders and reduce the number of people coming here to live and/or work. One of
the main principles of EU membership is "free movement", which means you don't
need to get a visa to go and live in another EU country. The Leave campaign also
objected to the idea of "ever closer union" between EU member states and what
they see as moves towards the creation of a "United States of Europe".

The political scene in the UK went through substantial change and shock
after the referendum. After the result was declared, Cameron announced that he
would resign by October. In the event, he stood down on 13 July, with Theresa
May becoming Prime Minister. George Osborne was replaced as Chancellor of the
Exchequer by Philip Hammond, Boris Johnson was appointed Secretary of State
for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and David Davis became Secretary of
State for Exiting the European Union. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn lost a vote of
confidence among his parliamentary party and a leadership challenge was
launched, while on 4 July, Nigel Farage announced his resignation as head of
UKIP.

Within hours of the result's announcement, a petition calling for a second

referendum to be held in the event that a result was secured with less than 60% of
the vote and on a turnout of less than 75% attracted tens of thousands of signatures.
The petition had actually been started before the referendum by someone favouring
an exit from the EU. It attracted more than four million signatures, meaning it was
considered for debate in Parliament.

On 27 June 2016, David Cameron's spokesperson stated that holding another

vote on Britain's membership to the European Union was "not remotely on the
cards." Home Secretary Theresa May made the following comment when
announcing her candidacy to replace Cameron as Conservative leader (and hence
as Prime Minister) on 30 June: "The campaign was fought ... and the public gave
their verdict. There must be no attempts to remain inside the EU ... and no second
referendum. ... Brexit means Brexit." The petition was rejected by the government
on 9 July. Its response said that the referendum vote "must be respected" and that
the government "must now prepare for the process to exit the EU". The Commons
Petitions Committee has scheduled a debate on the petition for 5 September 2016.

For the UK to leave the EU it has to invoke an agreement called Article 50

of the Lisbon Treaty which gives the two sides two years to agree the terms of the
split. Theresa May has said she will not kick off this process before the end of
2016. This means that we will not begin to get a clear idea of what kind of deal the
UK will seek from the EU, on trade and immigration, until next year.

Theresa May has set up a new government department, to be headed by

veteran Conservative MP and Leave campaigner David Davis, to take
responsibility for Brexit. Former defence secretary, Liam Fox, who also
campaigned to leave the EU, has been given the job of international trade minister
and Boris Johnson, who led the Leave campaign, is foreign secretary. These men -
dubbed the Three Brexiteers - will play a central role in negotiations with the EU
and seek out new international agreements, although it will be Mrs May, as prime
minister, who will have the final say. The government did not do any emergency
planning for Brexit ahead of the referendum - and it is now rushing to hire a team
of skilled negotiators to manage the complex business of negotiating withdrawal
and ensuring Britain gets the best possible deal.

Mg Pyay Thar Lin Maung

DIR-88
Assignment-(II), Module-(VIII)