Background to the UK's EU referendum 2016

Referendum result

European Union Referendum 2016
This Commons Library Briefing Paper analyses the results of the referendum on EU membership held on 23 June 2016.

Eligibility to vote

People eligible to vote must be over 18 years old, and at least one of the following:

• A British or Irish citizen resident in the UK
• A qualifying Commonwealth citizen
• A British citizen who is a service voter or overseas voter (British citizens may register as overseas voters for up to 15 years after leaving the UK)
• A Member of the House of Lords
• An Irish or Commonwealth citizen who would be entitled to vote in European elections in Gibraltar

The choice of franchise (Section 2 of the European Union Referendum Act 2015) excludes citizens of other EU countries resident in the UK (but EU citizens from Cyprus and Malta resident in the UK qualify as Commonwealth citizens, and Irish citizens resident in the UK are also included in the franchise).

Withdrawal process

• Brexit: The Immediate Legal Consequences – The Constitution Society (PDF 341 KB)
  Considers the main legal and constitutional consequences of a vote to leave the EU as well as citizenship rights following Brexit

• Brexit: how does the Article 50 process work?
  Outlines the process of withdrawing from the EU under Article 50 and early developments after the referendum

• Legal and constitutional issues and alternatives to EU membership
  Considers how the UK will leave the EU, some legal and constitutional issues, and possible alternatives to EU membership

Overview of policy areas

• Brexit: impact across policy areas
  Looks at the current situation in a range of policy areas and considers what impact Brexit might have

• A guide to the EU budget
  Explains EU spending, sources of revenue, the UK's rebate and Member States' contributions and receipts

International affairs

• Brexit and the UN Security Council
  Looks at the competing arguments about the possible effects of the UK's permanent membership of the UN Security Council

• Implications of the EU referendum for the UK's role in the world
  Report on whether EU membership helps or hinders the UK achieve its foreign policy goals and how the UK's global role might change

• "Ever Closer Union" in EU Treaties and Court of Justice case law
  Looks at the background to "ever closer union", its survival through Treaty changes and its use by the EU Court of Justice

Social issues

• EEA migrants: access to social housing (England)
  Overview of the law governing the rights of European Economic Area (EEA) migrants to access social housing in England

• What UK benefits can people from abroad claim?
  Overview of the rules on access to benefits and tax credits for people coming to the UK from abroad

• Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit for children resident in other EEA countries
  Overview Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits which may be payable to EEA migrants in the UK for dependent children resident abroad

• Measures to limit migrants' access to benefits
  Looks at the background to measures to restrict migrants' access to benefits and their like impact

• Further proposals to restrict migrants' access to benefits
  Examines proposals to restrict access to benefits and some of the obstacles in existing EU law to implementing them

Business and trade

• EU referendum: Impact on UK agriculture policy
  Examines potential implications for UK agriculture policy of the EU referendum vote, mainly in terms of the Common Agricultural Policy

• In brief: UK–EU economic relations
  Sets out the main indicators of the UK's economic relationship with the EU including trade, investment, employment and the budget

• EU membership and UK science
  Report on the influence of EU membership on UK science including freedom of movement of researchers and EU regulations

• A practitioner's guide to Brexit (TheCityUk]
  Looks at questions for businesses in the event of a Brexit including the UK's post-Brexit trading arrangements with other countries

Free movement of people

• Migration Statistics
  A guide to UK migration statistics and methods used in measuring them in the UK and in EU countries

• Asylum Statistics
  Statistics and analysis of asylum trends in the UK and other EU countries

• Employment by country of birth and nationality
  Statistics on how many non-UK nationals and foreign-born individuals work in the UK

Devolved legislatures

Scotland

• Scotland in the European Union (PDF 1.67 MB)
  Scottish Government publication on its position towards membership of the EU (2013)

• The impact of EU membership in Scotland – SPICe briefing (PDF 1.57 MB)
  Sets out what EU membership means for Scotland and includes analysis of the data relating to Scotland's economic and social links with the EU (30 October 2015)

Wales

• Europe Matters (Welsh Assembly newsletter)
  Newsletter on the scrutiny and policy development activities of the committees of the National Assembly of Wales relating to current European issues

Northern Ireland

• Northern Ireland and the EU Referendum
  Report identifies the potential impact of Brexit in key areas such as the economy, agriculture and the border with the Republic

• EU matter (NI Assembly newsletter)
  Newsletter produced by the EU Affairs Manager including information on the work of the Assembly committees on EU issues and EU developments

• @NIAEUMatters
  Follow the Northern Ireland Assembly Twitter account focusing on EU issues

• The EU referendum and potential implications for Northern Ireland (PDF 740 KB)
  Examines the debate surrounding the EU referendum and the implications for Northern Ireland, focusing on trade and investment

Relevant legislation and debates

• EU Referendum: News from the Commons
  Lists recent debates in the House of Commons relating to the EU referendum

• House of Lords work on the European Union
  Shows how to search Hansard for Lords business on the EU, access debates and find Lords members interested in the EU

• European Union Referendum Bill 2015–16
  Provides information about the provisions of the Bill for holding a referendum on the UK's continued membership of the EU

• European Union Referendum Bill 2015–16: Progress of the Bill
  Summarises the progress of the EU Referendum Bill through Parliament from its introduction in May 2015

• European Union Referendum Bill
  Background reading for the EU Referendum Bill, debated at second reading in the House of Lords on 13 October 2015

Background to negotiations

• Analysis of the UK's new EU Settlement
  Looks at the new settlement for the UK within the EU agreed at the European Council on 17–19 February 2016

• Review of the balance of competences
  The Government's review of the EU's competences in an audit of what the EU does and how it affects the UK

• The Review of the Balance of Competences between the UK and the EU
  Report welcomes the review as an ambitious piece of work but criticises the Government for failure to draw together an overall analysis

• EU referendum: UK's EU reform negotiations and the Tusk package
  Looks at the proposals for EU reform covering economic governance, competitiveness, sovereignty and free movement

• UK Government's renegotiation of EU membership inquiry
  European Scrutiny Committee inquiry explores renegotiation of EU membership and examines proposals by President Tusk

• Referendum on UK membership of the EU: assessing the reform process
  Lords EU Select Committee report analysing the process leading up to the referendum on UK membership of the EU

• EU referendum: reform negotiations June to December 2015
  Looks at the UK reform agenda launched at the European Council in June 2015 and levels of support from other EU member states

• Prime Minister's Speech on Europe
  Provides a short history of Prime Ministerial speeches on Europe and policy towards Europe, and summarises David Cameron's speech

• Reforming the EU: UK plans, proposals and prospects
  Looks at what the Government is doing to tackle some of the perceived weaknesses of EU policy and procedures

Further reading

• Reading list on UK–EU relations 2013–16: reform, renegotiation, withdrawal
  Selection of books, journal and press articles, think tank, parliamentary and library publications relevant to the subject

• The 1974–75 UK Renegotiation of EEC Membership and Referendum
  Looks at renegotiation of EEC membership in 1974–75 and draws parallels with the present Government's renegotiation agenda

• The European Union: a democratic institution?
  Considers the democratic credentials of the EU and possible remedies for the democratic deficit

Image: iStockphoto