Brexit bill became law

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Brexit bill became law

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Context –

1. Britain’s delayed and disputed Brexit bill has become law, removing the last U.K. obstacle to the country leaving the European Union in just over a week (Jan 31, 2020 is the deadline decided for Brexit). The queen’s assent came after the bill completed its passage through Parliament by getting approval from the House of Lords.

What is Brexit?–

1. Britain wants to leave European Union. This is called Britain Exit from EU. Britain Exit. Brexit.

What is European Union? 

1. The EU is an economic and political union involving 28 European countries. It allows free trade and free movement of people, to live and work in whichever country they choose. The UK joined in 1973 (when it was known as the European Economic Community). If the UK leaves, it would be the first member state to withdraw from the EU.
2. EU Headquarters – Brussels; President (Council) – Donald Tusk; President (Parliament) – David Sassoli; President (Commission) – Jean-Claude Juncker; Formation - Treaty of Rome – Jan. 1, 1958; Single European Act - July 1, 1987, Treaty of Maastricht – Nov. 1, 1993, Treaty of Lisbon Dec. 1, 2009; 
3. Last polity admitted - July 1, 2013

Why is the UK leaving?

1. A public vote - or referendum - was held on Thursday 23 June 2016, to decide whether the UK should leave or remain. Leave won by 52% to 48%. The referendum turnout was very high at 72%, with more than 30 million people voting - 17.4 million people opting for Brexit.
2. The principle that decisions about the UK should be taken by the UK. The sense that EU membership took decision making further away from 'the people' in favour of domination by regulatory bodies – in particular the European Commission, seen as the supposed key decision-taking body, is said to have been a strong motivating factor for leave voters wanting to end or reverse the process of EU influence in the UK.
3. Since 2008, Britain's background euroskepticism has been amplified by the poor performance of European economies. The post-2008 recession was bad in the United States, but it was really bad in the euro area. The eurozone took a greater hit than the US did initially, and then quickly collapsed back into recession rather than experiencing a continued recovery.

Why was Brexit delayed?

1. Brexit was originally due to happen on 29 March 2019. That was two years after then Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 - the formal process to leave - and kicked off negotiations.
2. Under Mrs May, the deadline was delayed twice after MPs rejected her Brexit deal - eventually pushing the date to 31 October 2019.
3. After replacing Mrs May as PM, Mr Johnson was required to seek a third extension after MPs failed to pass a revised Brexit deal into law. The new deadline has been set for 31 January 2020, three and a half years after the referendum was held.

Why did Parliament reject Theresa May's Brexit deal –

1. The main sticking point for many Conservative MPs and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP - the government's ally in Parliament at the time) was the Irish backstop.
2. Irish backstop - The Irish backstop (formally the Northern Ireland Protocol) is a defunct appendix to a draft Brexit withdrawal agreement developed by the May government and the European Commission in December 2017 and finalised in November 2018, that was designed to ensure there would be no border posts (one with customs control) or barriers between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after Brexit.
3. If it had been needed, the backstop would have kept the UK in a close trading relationship with the EU and avoided checks altogether. But MPs said if the backstop was used, the UK could be trapped in it for years, preventing UK from striking trade deals with other countries.

What is the new Brexit deal?

1. After winning the Conservative leadership contest, Mr Johnson took over as PM in July 2019 and set about renegotiating Mrs May's deal.
2. Mr Johnson succeeded in replacing the backstop with new customs arrangements. Unlike the previous deal, the revised one will allow the UK to sign and implement its own trade agreements.
3. However, the revised deal effectively creates a customs and regulatory border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. This means some goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain would be subject to checks and pay EU import taxes (known as tariffs).
4. These would be refunded if goods remain in Northern Ireland.

What is a no-deal Brexit -

1. In a no-deal scenario, the UK would immediately leave the European Union (EU) with no agreement about the "divorce" process. Overnight, the UK would leave the single market and Customs Union - arrangements designed to help trade between EU members by eliminating checks and tariffs (taxes on imports). No deal also means immediately leaving EU institutions such as the European Court of Justice and Europol, its law enforcement body.
2. A hard Brexit is leaving the single market, and the Customs Union, while at the same time negotiating some form of free trade deal with the EU. This would include agreements on things like the Irish border, possibly free movement within Europe of UK nationals already living in the EU (or possibly merely the right to carry on living in the country where you’re already living), rules for EU nationals already living in the UK to get some sort of permanent resident status, etc. 
3. What happens next? - Assuming the European Parliament also gives the green light, the UK will formally leave the EU on 31 January with a withdrawal deal. Following its departure, the UK will enter a transition period until 31 December 2020. During this period, the UK's trading relationship with the EU will remain the same while the two sides negotiate a free trade deal. 

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