This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36637915

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Brexit: Six key questions after Britain's vote to exit the EU Brexit: Key questions after Britain's vote to exit the EU
(3 days later)
Brexit - Britain's exit from the EU - has left a sea of confusion in its frothy wake. Here is a quick look at some of the current key questions yet to be answered following Thursday's referendum. The referendum that saw the UK vote to leave the EU has left confused waters in its frothy wake.
When is the UK leaving? Why hasn't it left already? Here is a look at some of the current key questions surrounding the decision.
For the UK to leave the EU, it has to formally invoke an agreement called Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. No country has ever left the EU, so Article 50 is untested. When is the UK leaving? Why hasn't it left yet?
Once Article 50 has been invoked in a letter or a speech, the formal process of withdrawing from the EU can begin, at which point the UK has two years to negotiate its withdrawal with the other member states. Extricating the UK from the EU will be extremely complex, and the process could drag on longer than that. The referendum result did not automatically mean that the UK would leave the EU. In fact, the result of the vote is not even legally binding - for the UK to leave the EU, it has to formally invoke an agreement called Article 50, which is part of the Lisbon Treaty.
In his statement after the results of the referendum, UK Prime Minister David Cameron - who backed Remain - said he would resign in October and leave it to his successor to decide when to trigger Article 50. Once Article 50 has been invoked in a letter or a speech, the formal process of withdrawing from the EU can begin, at which point the UK has two years to negotiate its withdrawal with the other member states. Extricating the UK from the EU will be extremely complex, and the process could drag on for longer than that - no country has ever left the EU, so just how Article 50 works is untested.
Leave campaigners say they want informal discussions with the EU first, but the foreign ministers of France and Germany have called for Article 50 to be triggered as soon as possible to avoid prolonging a period of uncertainty. On the morning the results came through, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who backed Remain, unexpectedly told the country he would stand down by October and that he was leaving it to his successor to decide when to trigger Article 50.
Could Brexit break up the UK? Leave campaigners say they want informal discussions with the EU first, while foreign ministers of France and Germany have called for Article 50 to be triggered as soon as possible to avoid prolonging a period of uncertainty.
Unlike England and Wales, Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says it is "democratically unacceptable" for the country to be taken out of the union against its will. There have been questions whether the process can be stopped, and a petition to call a second referendum gathered millions of signatures in days, but a second vote is unlikely.
A second independence referendum for the country is now "highly likely", she says, and recent polls suggest roughly 60% of Scots are now in favour of leaving the UK in order to remain in the EU. As the BBC's legal expert Clive Colman says it "seems impossible to see a legal challenge stopping the great democratic juggernaut now chuntering towards the EU's departure gate".
One constitutional expert has suggested Scotland could go further under its law and effectively veto Brexit, although others have dismissed this idea as extreme. Ok, so who's in charge of making the decision?
Northern Ireland also voted in favour of remain, and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, of the Sinn Fein party, has called for a referendum on reuniting the North with the South, which is outside the UK and remains in the EU. Of Brexit? Well, nobody really knows.
But the Westminster-based Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers has ruled out the call for a vote, saying there was no legal framework for it to be called. It looked like it was going to be former Mayor of London Boris Johnson, long-since tipped to be the next UK prime minister. He was a late convert to the Leave cause, but is hugely popular and would have been expected to implement Brexit sharpish.
There is uncertainty over whether a so-called "hard border" would have to be put in place between the North and the South if the North exits the EU. But in a shocking development, his Leave campaign sidekick Michael Gove threw his hat in the ring for the Conservative Party leadership, because Mr Johnson was "not capable of leading the party and the country in the way that I would have hoped".
Then, Mr Johnson pulled out during the very speech that was meant to kick-start his campaign.
Newspapers compared the fallout between Mr Gove and Mr Johnson to a Shakespearean play or Game of Thrones, saying Mr Johnson had been "Brexecuted".
After all that, Mr Gove is not even the favourite - the feeling is that he may have overplayed his political hand and damaged his chances by turning so abruptly on his former mate.
Of the five candidates, the front-runner is the most senior woman in the House of Commons, Theresa May, who has been home secretary since 2010.
Surprisingly, she's one of the two leadership contenders who backed Remain, although both of them say the referendum result must be honoured. "Brexit means Brexit," Mrs May said.
For politics-watchers in the UK, it has been an extraordinary week, sometimes bordering on the ridiculous.
"A country renowned for its political and legal stability is descending into chaos," wrote the New York Times.
And we haven't even started telling you about the Labour party yet.
What's happening with the opposition?
Many Labour MPs believe their leader Jeremy Corbyn failed to mobilise Labour voters to support the Remain campaign. They fear he would fail to win if a snap general election was called.
And so, one after the other, more than a dozen shadow cabinet members resigned, leaving Mr Corbyn facing an open insurrection.
As if that wasn't enough, his MPs then voted 172-40 to declare no confidence in him.
Even Mr Cameron seemed exasperated. In even rowdier scenes than usual at Westminster's House of Commons, the prime minister told him: "For heavens sake, man, go!"
Still, Mr Corbyn refuses to resign, saying it would be a betrayal of the party's grassroots members whose still support him.
But it's not over. Mr Corbyn is expected to face a formal leadership challenge very soon.
Is the UK economy falling apart?
Not quite, but here too it has been an eventful week.
The Chancellor, George Osborne, has abandoned his target to restore government finances to a surplus by 2020, saying that the economy is showing "clear signs" of shock following the vote.
Credit agencies have cut their ratings for the UK and for the EU as a whole.
Markets are not fans of uncertainty and the UK's FTSE 100 index plummeted on the morning after the referendum. It has since rallied, but as the uncertainty continues the market is likely to continue to vary.
The value of the pound against the dollar dropped to a 31-year low, meaning UK holidaymakers were buying substantially less cash for their travel wallets than they might have expected before hand.
The low value of the pound will adversely affect imports too, and because global oil prices are decided in dollars, prices at UK petrol pumps are likely to go up.
The Bank of England says the growth will be slower than expected next year and stimulus measures may be required.
That said, it will take longer to tell whether house prices will be affected and how the manufacturing and financial service industries will respond.
Is the Leave campaign abandoning its pledges?Is the Leave campaign abandoning its pledges?
Within hours of the results, the Leave campaign was being accused of rowing back on several of its key campaign pledges.Within hours of the results, the Leave campaign was being accused of rowing back on several of its key campaign pledges.
Among them, the bold claim that the UK would take back £350m donated to the EU every week and spend it on the NHS. The pledge was widely criticised during the campaign by many who pointed out that £350m is the UK's gross contribution, and that it receives vast sums of money back from the EU.Among them, the bold claim that the UK would take back £350m donated to the EU every week and spend it on the NHS. The pledge was widely criticised during the campaign by many who pointed out that £350m is the UK's gross contribution, and that it receives vast sums of money back from the EU.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies calculated during the campaign that of the £360 million the UK sent to the EU weekly in 2014, the net contribution was just £109 million. The Institute for Fiscal Studies calculated during the campaign that of the £360m the UK sent to the EU weekly in 2014, the net contribution was just £109m.
Key Leave campaigners including Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson and Ian Duncan Smith have since distanced themselves from the £350m promise, with Mr Duncan Smith claiming it was a "possibility" rather than a pledge.Key Leave campaigners including Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson and Ian Duncan Smith have since distanced themselves from the £350m promise, with Mr Duncan Smith claiming it was a "possibility" rather than a pledge.
Other key campaign pledges have been called into question. Leave promised to "take back control of Britain's borders" and reduce immigration, but several key Leave campaigners have since suggested that the UK may need to accept freedom of movement in order to have access to the single market.Other key campaign pledges have been called into question. Leave promised to "take back control of Britain's borders" and reduce immigration, but several key Leave campaigners have since suggested that the UK may need to accept freedom of movement in order to have access to the single market.
"A lot of things were said in advance of this referendum that we might want to think about again," said Leave campaigner and former Conservative minister Liam Fox."A lot of things were said in advance of this referendum that we might want to think about again," said Leave campaigner and former Conservative minister Liam Fox.
Is UK politics falling apart?
The days since the vote have produced scenes of political upheaval unprecedented in recent political history, with both the government and the opposition in turmoil. "A country renowned for its political and legal stability is descending into chaos," wrote the New York Times on Monday.
On Friday morning, the prime minister announced his resignation, just over a year into his second term, telling the country he would stay on until October to smooth the transition.
The Conservative party now has to find a new leader but it has been fiercely divided by the referendum. The front-runner is former London mayor Boris Johnson, who led the Leave campaign. Other key contenders include Home Secretary Theresa May and Chancellor George Osborne, but both were on the losing side of the Brexit vote.
This would normally play into the hands of the Labour party, the main opposition, but Labour too finds itself in crisis. Waves of the party's shadow cabinet have resigned in the wake of the referendum, ahead of an expected vote of no-confidence in leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Many Labour MPs believe Mr Corbyn failed to mobilise Labour voters to support the Remain campaign and would fail to win a snap general election in the likely event one were to be called later this year.
If the motion of no-confidence is successful there will be a vote for a new Labour leader. There is disagreement within the party about whether Mr Corbyn would automatically be entitled to a place on the ballot.
Has the Leave campaign encouraged racism?Has the Leave campaign encouraged racism?
There are no official statistics, but there has been a significant number of reports on social media of racist abuse linked to the Leave win. Some high-profile incidents have been verified by police.There are no official statistics, but there has been a significant number of reports on social media of racist abuse linked to the Leave win. Some high-profile incidents have been verified by police.
In Hammersmith, west London, on Sunday, suspected racist graffiti was painted on the front entrance of the Polish Social and Cultural Association.In Hammersmith, west London, on Sunday, suspected racist graffiti was painted on the front entrance of the Polish Social and Cultural Association.
And in Cambridgeshire, police are investigating laminated cards that were posted through letterboxes and left outside a school, which read: "Leave the EU/No more Polish vermin" in both English and Polish.And in Cambridgeshire, police are investigating laminated cards that were posted through letterboxes and left outside a school, which read: "Leave the EU/No more Polish vermin" in both English and Polish.
There has been a stream of reports on social media of people hurling abuse at others they assume to be immigrants. The Leave campaign has faced accusations that it encouraged hostility towards immigrants.There has been a stream of reports on social media of people hurling abuse at others they assume to be immigrants. The Leave campaign has faced accusations that it encouraged hostility towards immigrants.
What happens to immigrants already in the UK? Could Brexit break up the UK?
EU immigrants already in the UK would probably be granted indefinite leave to remain, as the Leave campaign has not called for them to be deported, but there are no guarantees at this stage. Unlike England and Wales, Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says it is "democratically unacceptable" for the country to be taken out of the union against its will.
Under current EU freedom of movement law, citizens are free to travel and settle in other member states. If the UK negotiates to keep freedom of movement after Brexit, EU immigrants in the UK (about 3 million) and British migrants abroad (about 1.2 million) will be unaffected. A second independence referendum for the country is now "highly likely", she says, and recent polls suggest roughly 60% of Scots are now in favour of leaving the UK in order to remain in the EU.
But the UK government may find itself under significant pressure to withdraw from freedom of movement after the Leave campaign pledged to reduce European immigration. This would then probably require UK citizens to obtain a visa to work or live abroad, and the same for EU citizens wanting to settle in the UK. One constitutional expert has suggested Scotland could go further under its law and effectively veto Brexit, although others have dismissed this idea as extreme.
Immigrants from outside of the EU are not affected by the change. Ms Sturgeon visited Brussels for a series of talks with senior EU officials in the week after the referendum, but the Spanish prime minister and French president both said they were opposed to Scotland negotiating EU membership outside the UK.
Northern Ireland also voted in favour of remaining, and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, of the Sinn Fein party, has called for a referendum on reuniting it with the Republic of Ireland, which is outside the UK and remains in the EU.
But the Westminster-based Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers has ruled that out, saying there was no legal framework for a vote to be called. Ms Villiers is a Conservative Party MP and campaigned for a Leave vote.
There is uncertainty over whether a so-called "hard border" would have to be put in place between the North and the South if the North exits the EU.