The European Union Referendum Act 2015 received Royal Assent in December 2015. The Act was scrutinised and debated in Parliament during its passage and agreed by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. On 20 February 2016 the Prime Minister announced that the referendum would take place on Thursday 23 June 2016, before the deadline set in the Act to hold the Referendum by the end of 2017.

As the Prime Minister said in his statement to the House of Commons on 27 June, the Referendum was one of the biggest democratic exercises in British history with over 33 million people having their say. He made clear that “we should be proud of our parliamentary democracy. But it is right that when we consider questions of this magnitude, we don’t just leave it to politicians but rather listen directly to the people.”

The Referendum has now been held, and the British people have voted to leave the European Union. The Prime Minister has been clear that the British people’s will must be respected.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office