# European Union membership referendum (2016)

URL: https://english-history.com/timeline/2016-european-union-membership-referendum
Categories: main-event

A UK-wide referendum produced a 51.9 percent vote to leave the European Union. Within the broader Postwar & Modern Uk period, decolonization, welfare institutions, migration, European integration and withdrawal, devolution and social change reshaped the modern United Kingdom. This event is placed at 23 June 2016 in the chronology so it can be read alongside the political, military, social and cultural changes around it. The result triggered years of constitutional and political conflict and fundamentally redirected Britain's external relations.

## Why it matters
The result triggered years of constitutional and political conflict and fundamentally redirected Britain's external relations.

Ruler at the time: [Elizabeth II](https://english-history.com/rulers/elizabeth-ii)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — European Union membership referendum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=European+Union+membership+referendum&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — European Union membership referendum](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=European+Union+membership+referendum)
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of British history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_British_history)
- [The National Archives — Postwar collection](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/explore-by-time-period/postwar/)