BREXIT: The Debate, the Decision, and the Aftermath

A referendum on the issue of Britain’s membership of the European Union (EU) was held on June 23, 2016, wherein Britain decided to leave the bloc by a majority of 1,269,501 votes. As an immediate outcome of the decision, the global financial market plunged into turmoil, with the British pound sinking sharply to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985. For decades, the UK’s bitter relationship with the bloc had been mobilizing a group of euroskeptics in Britain who questioned the value of its membership in the EU. The movement to leave the EU got a boost when the then British Prime Minister declared that a referendum would be held on the issue of Britain’s membership in the bloc. While the Prime Minister aimed to negotiate a better deal with the EU through the referendum, the growing euroskepticism in Britain promoted an anti-EU group, known as ‘Brexit’, who demanded liberation of the country from the over-regulated and protectionist-minded EU.. .