The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A timeline of key events related to Britain’s decision to leave the European Union:
■ Jan. 23, 2013: British Prime Minister David Cameron promises a referendum on Britain’s membership in the EU if the Conservative party is elected in the next general election.
■ May. 7, 2015: British voters elect a majority Conser- vative government. Cameron confirms in his victory speech that there will be an “in/out” referendum on European Union membership.
■ Feb. 20, 2016: Cameron announces that he has negotiated a deal with EU leaders which will give Brit- ain “special status.”Heconfirms that he will campaign for Britain to remain in the 28-nation bloc.
■ Feb. 21: Cameron is struck a severe blow when one of his closest Conserva- tive allies, the media-savvy Boris Johnson, joins the Leave campaign.
■ June 23: Britain votes 52 percent to 48 percent to leave the European Union.
■ June 24: Cameron says he will resign in light of the results.
■ July 13: Home Secre- tary Theresa May becomes prime minister.
■ Oct. 2: May says that Britain will begin the formal process of leaving the EU by the end of March 2017. In order to do this, the British government would have to invoke Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty.
■ March 29, 2017: The British government formally triggers Article 50, setting in motion a plan for Britain to leave the EU on March 29, 2019.
■ June 8: A general election called by May to bolster her party’s numbers in Parliament to help with the Brexit negotiations backfires as her Conservative Party loses its majority and continues in a weakened state as a minority government.
■ Dec. 12: Conservative lawmakers who back a clean break from the EU trigger a no-confidence vote in May over her handling of Brexit. She wins by 200 votes to 117, making her safe from another such challenge for a year.
■ Tuesday: The Brexit deal comes back to Parliament, where it is overwhelmingly defeated on a 432-202 vote. A no-confidence vote on May’s government is scheduled for today.