The long road
January 23, 2013: British Prime Minister David Cameron promises a referendum on Britain’s EU membership if his Conservative Party wins the next general election, in a move to garner support among euroskeptics within the party.
May 7, 2015: Cameron confirms in his victory speech that there will be an ‘‘in/out’’ referendum on EU membership.
February 20, 2016: Cameron announces that he will campaign for Britain to remain in the 28-nation bloc. The referendum date is set for June.
February 21: Cameron is struck a severe blow when one of his closest Conservative allies, Boris Johnson, joins the ‘‘leave’’ campaign.
June 16: One week before the referendum, Labour Party MP and ‘‘remain’’ campaigner Jo Cox is killed by extremist Thomas Mair.
June 23: Britain votes by 52 per cent to 48 per cent to leave the EU. Cameron says he will resign because Britain needs ‘‘fresh leadership’’ to take the country in a new direction.
July 13: Theresa May becomes prime minister.
March 29, 2017: The British government formally triggers Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, setting in motion a twoyear process for Britain to leave the bloc on March 29, 2019.
June 8: A general election called by May to bolster the Conservatives’ representation in Parliament to help the Brexit negotiations backfires. The party loses its majority and continues in a weakened state as a minority government.
July 7, 2018: May and her Cabinet endorse the so-called ‘‘Chequers Plan’’, leading to the resignations of Brexit Secretary David Davis, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and others who favour a more definitive break with the EU.
November 25: EU leaders approve a withdrawal deal reached with Britain after months of difficult negotiations. May urges Parliament to back the agreement.
December 10: May delays the planned Brexit vote one day before it is set to be held because it faces certain defeat, and seeks further concessions from the EU.
January 15, 2019: The Brexit deal comes back to Parliament,
where it is overwhelmingly defeated. The House of Commons will end up rejecting May’s agreement three times.
March 21: The EU agrees to extended the Brexit deadline, just over a week before Britain’s scheduled departure.
April 11: Britain and the EU agree for a second time to extend the withdrawal deadline, to keep Brexit from happening without a deal in place. The new deadline is October 31.
June 7: May steps down over the stalled Brexit agreement.
July 24: Johnson takes office as prime minister, insisting that the UK will leave on October 31 with or without a deal.
October 28: Johnson asks the EU to delay Brexit again. The new deadline is January 31.
October 29: Parliament votes for an election at the request of Johnson, who hopes it will break the Brexit stalemate.
December 12: Johnson wins a large majority, giving him the power to push through Brexit legislation.
January 31, 2020: The UK officially leaves the EU at 11pm, entering an 11-month transition period for the two sides to negotiate a deal on their future relations. –AP