Brexit is the process of withdrawing Britain

from the European Union (a British exit from the EU)

 

Some facts about the EU and the EEA:

 

 

 

Norway is a member of the EEA (EØS),

but not of the EU:

 

 

 

 

A Brexit timeline:

 

 

23 June 2016:

In a referendum

51.89% of the Britons voted to leave the European Union, while

48.11% wanted to remain.

 

25 November 2018:

After long negotiations, Britain and the EU agreed on a "divorce" agreement.

 

15 January 2019:

The British parliament rejected Theresa May's Brexit agreement.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also raised a no confidence motion against the government.

 

     

 

Artikkel: Labour fremmer mistillit mot May og den konservative regjeringen (ABC Nyheter 16.1.2019)

 

16 January 2019:

Theresa May survived the no-confidence motion by a narrow majority.

She continued the work for getting Britain out of the EU.

 

 

 

12 March 2019:

The British parliament rejected Theresa May's Brexit deal for the second time.

 

13 March 2019:

The British parliament decided that it does not want to leave the EU without a deal.

This decision is not binding, however. If nothing more was done, Britain would leave on 29 March.

 

14 March 2019:

Theresa May decided to try for the third time to get the parliament to approve the deal.

Parliament voted to ask the EU for an extension of Article 50 (which means Britain will leave the EU later).

 

18 March 2019:

The Speaker in the British parliament, John Bercow, said that the parliament cannot vote over the same proposal twice.

That meant that Theresa May would have to change the deal to get it approved.

 

20 March 2019:

EU president Donald Tusk said that the EU would accept a short delay of Brexit,

but only if the British parliament agrees to the deal.

 

 

Graphic: What could happen next? (BBC)

 

Info from the British government: Prepare for EU exit

 

Info from the Norwegian government: Hva betyr brexit for deg?

 

 

29 March 2019:

On 29 March Britain was scheduled to leave the EU,

but the parliament voted against it.

 

10 April 2019:

The EU gave the UK a new deadline for leaving: the 31 October 2019.

 

May 2019:

There was held an election to the European parliament in Britain, even though the UK is on its way out of the EU.

 

24 July 2019:

Theresa May resigned, and Boris Johnson became the new Prime Minister of the UK.

 

Boris Johnson wanted the UK to leave the EU on 31 October, with or without an agreement.

The parliament, on the other hand, passed a law that compelled the PM to

ask the EU for a delay until 31 January if the parliament does not approve leaving.

 

 

 

September 2019:

PM Boris Johnson tried to suspend (close down) the parliament for many weeks,

but the Supreme Court declared the suspension to be invalid.

 

On 25 September the parliament reopened. 

 

 

 

17 October 2019:

PM Boris Johnson reached a new Brexit agreement with Brussels,

butthe British parliament did not accept the deal.

 

 

 

31 October 2019:

The delay that the EU gave Britain expired.

PM Boris Johnson wanted Britain to leave the EU on that day, with or without an agreement.

That did not happen, and the EU gave Britain a new deadline: 31 January.

 

 

4 November 2019:

Lindsay Hoyle was appointed as the new speaker of the House of Commons.

The speaker leads the debates and tries to keep "order!" in the House of Commons.

The ceremony took place in the House of Lords. The Queen was not present herself,

but she communicated her approbation of Sir Hoyle through her representatives.

This ceremony is a good example of British traditions and formal English. 

 

 

 

12 December 2019:

General election in Britain

The British parliament has decided to have a new general election.

There is a hope that the new parliament will be more able to reach an agreement about Brexit.

• Will Britain leave the EU?
• Or will there be a new referendum over Brexit?

 

See updated opinion polls

 

Task: Find facts about the 2019 British election

 

 

 

 

About the election results:

• Boris Johnson's Conservative party won greatly in the UK
• Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party lost miserably, probably due to their unclear policy on Brexit 
• Nicola Sturgeon's SNP won greatly in Scotland 

 

 

     

 

The first meeting of the new House of Commons after the election:

PM Boris Johnson (CON) speaks at 28:05, and Jeremy Corbyn (LAB) at 32.00.

 

 

Artikkel: Boris vann - no må Noreg forhandle om fiskemilliardar (NRK Sogn og Fjordane 13.12.2019)

 

 

 

19 December 2019:

The Queen's speech

 

Queen Elizabeth came to the parliament to read the Queen' speech (trontalen).

The speech is written by PM Boris Johnson.

It is a plan for what his new government is going to do.

Some main points:

• "get Brexit done"
• more money for the NHS (National Health Service) 
• tougher punishment for violent offenders
• binding environmental standards
• see more in this article from the Evening Express 

 

      

 

 

31 January 2020: Britain left the EU.

Brexit has been done, but Britain and the EU will negotiate for at least a year

about the trade rules and regulations that will apply in the future. 

 

     

 

Artikkel: Dette betyr det for deg at britene har forlatt EU (NRK 31.1.2020)

 

 

To say farewell, the European parliament sang

 

Auld Lang Syne

 

(Written in 1788 by the Scottish poet Robert Burns.)

 

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?

     Chorus:

 

     For auld lang syne, my dear,
     for auld lang syne,
     we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
     for auld lang syne.

And surely you'll buy your pint cup!
and surely I'll buy mine!
And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

We two have run about the hills,
and picked the daisies fine;
But we've wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

And there's a hand my trusty friend!
And give me a hand o' thine!
And we'll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

 

 

December 2020:

Will there be a no-deal Brexit?

Britain is leaving the EU on 31 December,

but no agreement has been reached on issues like trade, customs and fisheries.

 

      

 

 

31 December 2020:

A BrExit agreement has been reached

between the UK and the EU, so Brexit has been done.

Article: What you need to know about the UK leaving the EU (BBC, 30 Dec 2020)

 

Info om jobb og studiar i Storbritannia etter Brexit 

 

 

 

 

The new EU map:

 

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eu_map_new.png 

 

 

Meanwhile, the Scots contemplate leaving the UK to re-join the EU:

 

 

 

Will Brexit lead to Scottish independence?

 

In a 2014 referendum, 45% of the Scots voted yes and 55% voted no to independence.

Most of the Scots want to remain in the EU (62% of the Scots voted remain),

so Brexit is now a new and strong argument for independence.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) works for a new referendum - #indyref2020.

 

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon speaking at an independence rally

in Glasgow on 2 November 2019:

 

  

 

In the election, the SNP got even more support:

 

 

 

 

On 9 January 2020, the British parliament in London

finally decided to leave the EU.

SNP delegate Ian Blackford made it very clear that he wanted Scotland

to remain in the EU. He wants a Scottish referendum about independence.

What are his arguments?

 

 

PM Boris Johnson, however, wants Scotland to stay in the UK.

What are his arguments?

 

 

ARTICLES

 

Artikkel: Brexit sår uvisse på Vestlandet (NRK Sogn og Fjordane 5.9.2019)

 

Artikkel: Det kan ende med ny folkerøysting om brexit (NRK 13.3.2019)

 

Artikkel: Frykter norsk milliardtap uten Brexit-avtale (NRK Nordland 19.1.2019)

 

Articles from November 2018:

 

Article: Brexit - Your simple guide to the UK leaving the EU (BBC, 25 Nov 2018)

 

Artikkel: EU gir klarsignal for brexitkamp i Underhuset (ABC Nyheter, 25.11.2018)

 

Info om Brexit frå norske EU-tilhengarar: Brexit - Storbritannias vei ut av EU (Europabevegelsen)

 

Info om Brexit frå norske EU-motstandarar: Storbritannias skilsmisseavtale (Nei til EU)

 

 

What is the Norway model?

 

 

 

 

PM Theresa May's Brexit letter from November 2018

 

In November 2018, Theresa May wrote this letter to the British people,

seeking support for the Brexit deal she has negotiated with the EU:

 

 

 

Theresa May presenting the deal in the parliament, comments, and about Gibraltar:

 

 

 

 

Brexit task:

 

How Brexit will change Britain.docx

 

 

The British parliament did not support Theresa May's Brexit

 

Britain did not leave the EU on 29 March 2019 as it was planned.

 

 

 

What if there is no deal?

 

If Britain and the EU cannot agree on a Brexit deal, only the basic WTO rules will apply.

Those are general rules about trade between countries.

 

Many Britons fear there will be a chaos by the EU border due to new, inefficient border controls.

Will there be difficulties importing food and medicine?

 

 

 

Why would 51% of the Britons like to leave the EU?

 

There is no person to explain that better than Nigel Farage.

He was the leader of UKIP, the United Kingdom Independence Party,

which was the driving force behind Brexit.

In this video he has many good "leave" arguments.

 

 

 

After the Brexit vote in 2016, Nigel Farage gave this speech in the European parliament:

 

 

 

 

SOURCES

 

Brexit map:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_Kingdom_EU_referendum_2016_area_results_2-tone.svg