It is an acronym for "British departure," much like "Grexit," which was long used to describe the possibility of Greece exiting the Eurozone. Brexit alludes to the potential for Britain to leave the European Union (EU).

It was the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union on January 31, 2020, at 23:00 GMT. The only independent nation to have done so is the UK. Since January 1, 1973, the UK has been a member of the EU or the European Communities, occasionally both at the same time. After Brexit, British laws no longer take precedence over EU law or the rulings of the European Court of Justice, with the exception of a few circumstances involving Northern Ireland.

Timeline:

  1. In a referendum held on 23 June 2016, the majority of those who voted chose to leave the European Union.
  2. The UK had long been expected to leave the European Union at 11pm on 29 March 2019. However, following a House of Commons vote on 14 March 2019, the Government sought permission from the EU to extend Article 50 and agree a later Brexit date.
  3. On 20 March 2019 the Prime Minister wrote to European Council President Donald Tusk, asking to extend Article 50 until 30 June 2019.
  4. At a meeting of the European Council on 10 April 2019, the UK and EU27 agreed to extend Article 50 until 31 October 2019.
  5. On 28 October 2019, EU Ambassadors agreed a further Brexit extension to 31 January 2020.
  6. On 12 December 2019, Boris Johnson won a majority in the UK General Election and reaffirmed his commitment to ‘get Brexit done‘ by 31 January 2020.
  7. At 11pm on 31 January 2020, the UK left the EU and entered a transition period.
  8. At 11pm on 31 December 2020, the transition period ended and the United Kingdom left the EU single market and customs union.