Brexit since 2016 vote
Vote to leave: In an advisory referendum on June 23, 2016, Britons choose to leave the 28-nation EU by 52 to 48 percent. The shock outcome prompts Conservative PM David Cameron to resign the next day.
May becomes PM: Theresa May, the interior minister who also backed remaining in the EU, becomes prime minister on July 13. On January 17, 2017.
Exit process triggered: On March 29, 2017 the government starts a two-year timetable for withdrawal with a letter to the EU Council formally announcing Britain’s intention to leave. The Brexit deadline is set for March 29, 2019.
Lost majority: To strengthen her hand in Brexit negotiations, May calls a snap election for June 8, 2017. But the Conservatives lose their parliamentary majority and, to stay in power, strike a deal for support from Northern Ireland’s hardline Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
Draft deal agreed: On November 13, 2018 British and EU negotiators reach a draft divorce agreement. EU leaders approve the accord on November 25.
Rejected three times: In the first parliament vote on the deal on January 15, 2019, MPs vote 432 to 202 against -- the biggest government defeat in British parliamentary history. the deal was voted two more times.
Deadline delays: The EU agrees to delay Brexit until May 22 and then -- at an April 10-11 summit -- until October 31, the current deadline.
May out, Johnson in: The European election defeat prompts May to announce on May 24 that she will step down as Conservative leader on June 7. On July 23 Boris Johnson is voted in as new Conservative leader, becoming prime minister the next day. Queen backs delay law: On September 9 Queen Elizabeth II gives her approval to a law that would force the government to delay Brexit if it is not able to strike a divorce deal with Brussels.
New draft deal agreed: On October 17, the European Union and Britain announce their agreement on a new draft Brexit accord. It is then endorsed at a key EU summit by the other 27 EU members, but also needs approval by the British and European parliaments.
Parliament votes: On October 19, the British parliament votes to delay a decision on johnson’s Brexit deal, arguing they needed more time to study its contents before an October 31 deadline.