2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum

The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum took place on 23 June 2016 in the UK and Gibraltar. It was to decide whether the United Kingdom would stay in the European Union (EU).

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum

23 June 2016
Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?[a]
Location	United Kingdom (pop. 65.65m)[1] and Gibraltar (pop. 34,000)[2]
Outcome	The UK votes to leave the European Union
Results
Results Votes  % Leave 17,410,742 51.89% Remain 16,141,241 48.11% Valid votes 33,551,983 99.92% Invalid or blank votes 25,359 0.08% Total votes 33,577,342 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 46,500,001 72.21%
Results by voting area
On the map, the darker shades for a colour indicate a larger majority. The results for Northern Ireland are by parliamentary constituency. The electorate of 46.5m represents 70.8% of the population.

'Vote remain' banner in Kirk Deighton, North Yorkshire.

The referendum ended with 51.9% of votes in favour of leaving the EU.^[3][4][5]

On 24 June, the then Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister David Cameron announced that he would resign.^[6] He was replaced on 13 July by Theresa May.

The Remain campaign

Members of the Remain campaign wanted the United Kingdom to stay in the European Union. Political parties that wanted the UK to stay in the EU include the Labour Party,^[7][8] the Liberal Democrats^[9] and the Scottish National Party.^[10] They said that being in the EU gave the UK many advantages in trade.

Prime Minister David Cameron supported staying in the EU, but the Conservative Party was neutral.^[11] It was up to each MP to have their own view. Other well-known Conservatives who wanted to remain in the EU include George Osborne, Theresa May and Philip Hammond.

The Leave campaign

Members of the leave campaign, commonly called Brexit, wanted the UK to leave the European Union. Political parties who supported leaving the EU include United Kingdom Independence Party,^[12] the Respect Party^[13] and many members of the Conservative Party. Those who supported "leave" were especially concerned about the EU's "open border" policies and mass migration.

Some well known members of the Conservative party who wanted to leave the EU included Iain Duncan Smith, Michael Gove and Boris Johnson.

Party policies

The tables list political parties with seats in the House of Commons or the House of Lords, the European Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly, or the Gibraltar Parliament at the time of the referendum.

Great Britain

Position	Political parties		Ref
Remain		Green Party of England and Wales	[14]
		Labour Party	[15][16]
		Liberal Democrats	[17]
		Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales	[18]
		Scottish Green Party	[19]
		Scottish National Party (SNP)	[20][21]
Leave
		UK Independence Party (UKIP)	[22]
Neutral		Conservative Party	[23]

Northern Ireland

Position	Political parties		Ref
Remain		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland	[24][25]
		Green Party in Northern Ireland	[26]
		Sinn Féin	[27]
		Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)	[28]
		Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)	[29]
Leave
		Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)	[30][31]
		People Before Profit Alliance (PBP)	[32]
		Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV)	[33]

Gibraltar

Position	Political parties		Ref
Remain		Gibraltar Social Democrats	[34]
		Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party	[35]
		Liberal Party of Gibraltar	[35]

Final results

  Leave

  Remain

By local districts

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
Choice	Votes	%
Remain a member of the European Union	16,141,241	48.11
Leave the European Union	17,410,742	51.89
Total votes	33,551,983	100.00

* Total votes only include Valid votes. About 25,359 were invalid or blank. Source: ^[36]

UK regional results

Region		Voter turnout, of eligible	Votes		Proportion of votes
			Remain	Leave	Remain	Leave
	East Midlands	74.2%	1,033,036	1,475,479	41.18%	58.82%
	East of England	75.7%	1,448,616	1,880,367	43.52%	56.48%
	London	69.7%	2,263,519	1,513,232	59.93%	40.07%
	North East England	69.3%	562,595	778,103	41.96%	58.04%
	North West England	70%	1,699,020	1,966,925	46.35%	53.65%
	Northern Ireland	62.7%	440,707	349,442	55.78%	44.22%
	Scotland	67.2%	1,661,191	1,018,322	62.00%	38.00%
	South East England	76.8%	2,391,718	2,567,965	48.22%	51.78%
	South West England & Gibraltar	76.7%	1,503,019	1,669,711	47.37%	52.63%
	Wales	71.7%	772,347	854,572	47.47%	52.53%
	West Midlands	72%	1,207,175	1,755,687	40.74%	59.26%
	Yorkshire and the Humber	70.7%	1,158,298	1,580,937	42.29%	57.71%

Reactions

Shortly after the results were announced, David Cameron said that he would resign by October 2016. After a leadership election, Theresa May became Prime Minister on 13 July.

The Scottish government announced on 24 June 2016 that they were planning to hold a second independence referendum.^[37] Northern Ireland politician Martin McGuinness also called for an Irish reunification referendum.^[38] A movement for London independence even occurred, with an online petition reaching thousands of signatures.^[39][40][41]

A "Bregret"/"Regrexit" petition was proposed by William Oliver Healey on 24 May 2016. It was made to support the creation of a second European Union membership referendum. By 25 June, more than two and a half million people signed the petition.^[42] Calls for a second referendum was later rejected by the government.^[43]

Theresa May officially triggered Article 50 on 29 March 2017.^[44] This means that negotiations have started between the UK government and the European Union. These talks are expected to last 2 years and after they have finished the UK will be out of the EU.

Notes

1. Welsh: A ddylai'r Deyrnas Unedig aros yn aelod o’r Undeb Ewropeaidd neu adael yr Undeb Ewropeaidd?