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105

Brexit and the constitutional policies of the

European Union

On 23 June 2016, the people of the United

Kingdom brought 43 years of membership of

the European Union to an end when they voted

for Brexit.

1

The referendum was the result of a

reckless political gamble by David Cameron, as

he sought to renegotiate the UK’s status in the

EU as part of a wider strategy to strengthen his

position within the Conservative Party against

1

 Some 51.9 % of votes were cast in favour of Leave,

against 48.1 % for Remain. Analysis of the polling data has

revealed a society that is deeply divided along lines of age,

education, geography and income, and points to a vote in

which hostility towards globalisation was a significant fac-

tor. For detailed analysis see: Hobolt, S.B.: “The Brexit vote:

a divided nation, a divided continent”,

Journal of European

Public Policy,

vol. 23, no. 9, 2016, pp. 1259-1277.

his Eurosceptic rivals and to see off the threat of

UKIP in the 2015 General Election.

2

In this chapter, we do not propose to con-

sider the political ramifications of the withdraw-

al of a member state from the EU and the con-

sequences that this may have for European

integration. Nor do we intend to offer an analy-

sis of why the majority of British voters decided

to opt for withdrawal, a decision that in some

2

 In a study conducted for the European Union, we ana-

lysed both the United Kingdom’s limited participation in

European integration in general, and the specific political

process that drove Cameron’s attempt to renegotiate the

country’s constitutional status within the EU. See: Aldecoa

Luzárraga, F.; Guinea, M.; Llorente, M.:

Renegotiation by

the United Kingdom of its Constitutional Relationship with

the European Union: Issues related to sovereignty,

Brus-

sels, European Parliament, 2016. Available at:

http://www

.

europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/556938/

IPOL_STU(2016)556938_EN.pdf

Brexit: negotiating

the United Kingdom’s

withdrawal from

the European Union

Mercedes Guinea Llorente