Britain's EU referendum: what you need to know
Here’s a guide to how Britain’s EU membership referendum will work.
www.weforum.orgHere’s the latest publicly reported context on the 2016 UK-EU referendum as of 2026.
- The referendum took place on June 23, 2016, with 51.9% voting to Leave and 48.1% to Remain; turnout was about 72% nationwide. The result led to Prime Minister David Cameron resigning and Theresa May becoming PM, with the UK eventually triggering Article 50 in March 2017 to begin formal withdrawal negotiations.[3][7][9]
- The Electoral Commission published a detailed official breakdown. Across the UK, Leave won in England and Wales, while Remain won in Scotland and Northern Ireland; overall Leave secured a 1.27 million vote margin (51.9% Leave vs 48.1% Remain) and about 25,359 ballot papers were rejected. The final certified totals were announced by Jenny Watson, then Chief Counting Officer for the referendum, at Manchester Town Hall on June 24, 2016.[8][3]
- Immediately after the result, the government acknowledged the mandate and laid out next steps, including negotiation objectives with the EU and plans to ensure parliamentary approval for the exit process; Cameron issued a statement emphasizing the will of the British people and the need to deliver the result.[7]
Key sources to review for precise numbers and timelines:
- Electoral Commission report on the referendum results and turnout.[3]
- GOV.UK overview of the EU referendum, including the outcome statement by the Prime Minister.[6][7]
- Wikipedia and related pages documenting the aftermath and ongoing negotiations leading to Article 50 timelines.[4][9]
If you’d like, I can pull the most recent official PDFs or summarize the exact regional breakdowns and post-Brexit transition arrangements with citations.