On Thursday, June 23rd, 2016 Britain held a vote in order to decide if the country would leave or remain in the European Union (EU). At the end of the day, the vote was 52% in favor of leaving the EU to about 48% in support of staying.  The country was divided over this issue as many believe breaking from the EU would allow for Britain to reclaim “its national sovereignty”, avoid inconvenient and unnecessary regulations, as well as better manage their own affairs. The debate surrounding this issue is still circulating as Theresa May, the current Prime Minister of England, has just recently attempted to pass a withdrawal agreement to put Brexit into effect; however, it was met with historic defeat. Now, the country must find a way to resolve this issue before March 29th or they will end up “ with no deal, which would be bad for all of Europe and potentially disastrous for Britain.”

Britain has been in the European Union since 1969 after a long application process in which France vetoed two of their three applications to join. The country then joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in January of 1973. The Labour party, after the country’s decision to join the EEC, believed that they did not need to be a member of this organization. A referendum, similar to Brexit, was put in place to decide if the UK should remain in the EEC. In 1975 the referendum was held and 67% voted in favor of remaining a member of the EEC. 

Despite these previous issues, Britain has reaped many benefits as a member of the EU such as trade with neighboring countries, negotiation power, trade deals, solidifying itself as a financial hub, as well as gaining millions of jobs. However, many believe Britain would only prosper if it were to leave the EU as they would no longer need to pay a “membership fee”, be subject to numerous regulations and rules, as well as follow the EU’s immigration laws. 

However, in order to fully understand the scope of this issue and the current debate surrounding Brexit we must go back to 2015 when the referendum was first introduced by David Cameron, the Prime Minister at the time. The idea of creating a vote to either leave or stay in the European Union was created by Cameron in order to please the conservatives. The conservative party believed that Britain no longer needed to be a member as it was only hurting the country. Many believe that this feeling of discontent or disagreement by the conservatives may have been aided by the current issues regarding immigration. Britain, as a member of the EU, is unable to prevent people from living in the UK if they are coming from a member state. Due to this, Britain has received a large influx of migrants searching for places to live. The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) (the altar conservative party of the UK) also believed that Britain must leave the EU to better manage these issues. However, when Cameron announced the referendum in 2015 he never would have imagined that the public would vote to leave the EU. Cameron even managed to seek “EU reform in four major areas: national sovereignty, immigration, policy, financial and economic regulation, and competitiveness.” Despite his efforts, Britain voted in favor of Brexit, causing Cameron to resign as Prime Minister. After his resignation, Theresa May, who at the time was the Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equality, became Prime Minister. Once entering office, Theresa May decided to enact Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which states how and under what circumstances a country can leave the EU. Once enacting this process, Britain had two years to organize its affairs and create a deal before having to leave the EU. Many believe that article 50 was enacted prematurely as the government was unable to quickly form a plan and create a deal. Furthermore, Theresa May decided to hold a special election last summer in hopes of gaining more conservative votes for future Brexit deals. Instead, the liberals secured more votes than the Torys causing the conservatives to bring in the Democratic Unionist Party to form a government and support the conservative minority. This party has advocated for not placing a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland (a member state of the EU). This has caused further issues for Theresa May and parliament in regards to Brexit plans. All of this has caused national, as well as global, debate over the subject and what should be done regarding Britain’s plans on leaving the European Union. 

This month Theresa May presented her Brexit deal, in hopes it would pass in parliament. However, the deal was rejected 432 votes to 202. After this tremendous loss, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn announced a “vote of no confidence” to “bring down Mrs. May’s government.” This idea was declined by a 325-to-306 vote. Now, Theresa May must find a way to resolve this issue before March 29th when the two years granted by Article 50 will run out. However, there is a chance that Britain would be able to get an extension on Article 50 in order to gain more time to find a solution. Currently, There are five options on the table:

1) Parliament decides to accept Theresa May’s plan

2) Find a plan B 

3) Call for a second referendum 

4) Exit the EU without a deal 

5) Institute something similar to the Norway Model

If nothing is resolved by March 29th, 2019 Britain will fall out of the EU with no deal, which may end in disaster. 

The Debate over Brexit is still going on as many believe Britain should not leave the EU and all of the benefits it provides, while others feel it is crucial to leave in order to prevent the EU from controlling Britain and negatively affecting their economy and society. As this debate continues and an adequate and agreed upon Brexit deal seems farther and farther out of reach, Theresa May and Parliament must quickly find a way to solve this issue before it leads to a national crisis. According to an article by the Economist, it seems the only way to resolve this issue and find a solution is to “go back to the people, and ask.”