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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