Britain was yesterday to end almost half a century of integration with its closest neighbors and leave the EU, starting a new — but still uncertain — chapter in its long history.
At the stroke of midnight in Brussels, Britain was to become the first member to leave the EU and go it alone for the first time since 1973.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has backed Brexit since the 2016 referendum vote to leave that triggered bitterness and division, but he has promised to lead the kingdom to a bright new future.
Official celebrations would be muted out of respect for half the population who wanted to stay in the EU and who remain fearful of what lies ahead.
“Our job as the government, my job, is to bring this country together and take us forward,” Johnson said in a statement to mark the historic occasion.
“This is not an end, but a beginning. This is the moment when the dawn breaks and the curtain goes up on a new act,” he added.
Nothing would immediately feel different thanks to a transition period negotiated as part of an EU-UK exit deal, which was ratified earlier this week.
Britons would be able to work in and trade freely with EU nations until Dec. 31 and vice versa, although the UK would no longer be represented in the bloc’s institutions.
However, legally, Britain would be out — with no easy way back.
While the exit terms have been agreed, Britain must still strike a deal on future relations with the EU, its largest trading partner.
Getting this far has been a traumatic process.
Despite Britain’s resistance to many EU projects over the years — it refused to join the single currency or the Schengen passport-free travel area — the 2016 vote to leave was a huge shock.
It unleashed political chaos in London, sparking years of bitter arguments that paralyzed parliament and forced the resignations of two prime ministers.
Johnson brought an end to the turmoil with his decisive election victory in December, which gave him the parliamentary majority to ratify the Brexit deal.
However, Britons remain as divided as they were nearly four years ago, when 52 percent voted to leave, but 48 percent voted to remain in the EU.
Johnson is a polarizing figure, but he has emphasized unity and is avoiding any major celebrations that might exacerbate divisions.
He is to first host a special Cabinet meeting in the northeastern English city of Sunderland, which was the first to declare for Brexit in the 2016 vote.
At 10pm, he was scheduled to broadcast an address to the nation and then host a reception for staff at his 10 Downing Street office.
A light show was also to be held outside his office, while millions of commemorative £0.50 coins are being minted to mark the occasion.
On them is the message: “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations.”
By contrast Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party leader who has spent decades campaigning to leave the EU, is planning a large rally in nearby Parliament Square.
British euroskeptics have campaigned for decades to free their country from what they see as an overly bureaucratic and unaccountable institution.
Johnson has promised to leave the EU’s single market and customs union, giving Britain the freedom to forge trade deals around the world.
However, exactly how that will work — and at what cost to firms that depend on EU business — remains to be seen.
The EU divorce deal resolved the issue of London’s debts, the rights of EU expatriates, the status of Northern Ireland and the transition period.
However, Johnson has given himself just 11 months to negotiate a new EU partnership, covering everything from trade to security cooperation.
He is to set out his plans in a speech early next week, but Brussels has already warned that he must either limit his ambitions or ask for more time.
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