Brexit day: The story of the UK leaving the EU in key quotes

Britain has left the EU, more than three years and three prime ministers after it voted out.

It’s been a political rollercoaster full of twists and turns, and a journey which can be tracked by what people said at the time.

Some have aged better than others, but here are a few of the key quotes from before the referendum until Brexit day.

Then-PM David Cameron was speaking about Britain’s response to Europe’s debt crisis. MPs in Parliament had just voted against holding an EU referendum, after 100,000 people signed a petition calling for one.

But back then, the word Brexit had not even been invented. In the summer of 2012, as London readied itself for hosting the Olympics, the “B” word emerged, albeit with a different spelling to what we know today:

Meanwhile, the PM faced more pressure to hold a EU referendum. Nearly 100 Tory MPs signed a letter to him calling for one.

The following year, Mr Cameron agreed, promising a referendum on Britain staying in the EU.

He planned to renegotiate the UK’s relationship with the EU before giving people a “simple choice” of in or out. In Europe, politicians reacted:

Meanwhile UKIP was becoming a force in British politics. Leader Nigel Farage said he wanted a referendum to happen quickly.

By December 2013 the party claimed that a record year of growth had taken its membership above 30,000 for the first time.

Back in Brussels, the time had come for an EU summit, with Mr Cameron pledging to deliver a strong message to EU leaders.

During the next year, his plans to renegotiate the UK’s relationship with the EU were discussed.

Mr Cameron, fresh from a general election victory, went on to strike a deal on a new UK-EU relationship. He promised “We’ll be out of the parts of Europe that don’t work for us” and “never be part of a European super-state”.

He then announced a date for the referendum – 23 June 2016.

Most other parties – except the DUP and UKIP – backed Remain, including Labour.

Among those warning against Brexit was the then-US president. The UK, he said, would not be seen as a priority for trade deals.

And a group of nearly 300 actors, musicians, writers and artists signed a letter urging people to vote Remain.

Meanwhile, it was during the campaign that the then-Mayor of London Boris Johnson famously, and wrongly, echoed Vote Leave’s claim that the UK pays the EU £350m a week – higher than the actual amount at the time.

A computer glitch meant thousands of people were unable to register to vote in time. The government blamed the snag on record demand and extended the deadline, allowing another 430,000 more people to register.

With just over a week to go, polling expert Prof John Curtice said Remain was no longer the frontrunner.

Nevertheless, there was surprise for many when, on referendum night, the results started to show a lead for Leave.

Later, the full result was in: Britain had voted to leave the EU and Europe was in shock.

Across the continent and beyond, front pages reacted to the “24 hours in which the world has changed”.

The following day, Mr Cameron – who fronted the Remain campaign – quit, saying he had fought the campaign “head, heart and soul”.

It sparked a race for the next Conservative Party leader. Boris Johnson was immediately installed as the bookies’ favourite to win and was backed by his fellow Leave campaigner, Michael Gove.

But, in a shock twist, Mr Gove announced that instead of backing his friend and colleague, he himself would run for the top job. Mr Johnson pulled out of the contest.

Theresa May became the frontrunner, and set out her ambitions to win.

She took over the following month and with a new UK prime minister came a new slogan:

A year later, she called a snap election which saw the Conservative Party lose their majority, while Labour made gains.

Meanwhile, negotiations had begun – with leading EU figures making their opinions clear. Donald Tusk quoted John Lennon to suggest the door remained open to the UK staying.

After months of talks, Theresa May announced that her top team had backed her Brexit deal. Jean-Claude Juncker later insisted: “I’m never changing my mind.

Abba star Bjorn Ulvaeus shared his thoughts on Theresa May dancing on to the stage to the sound of Dancing Queen at the Conservative Party conference.

Meanwhile, as Theresa May struggled to get her deal through Parliament, Mr Tusk was criticised for taking aim at Brexiteers.

Brexit was postponed to 31 October, after MPs rejected the Brexit deal and voted against leaving without a deal. Mr Tusk said the extension was “enough” to get a solution.

Amid a backlash from her own MPs against her Brexit plan – and after the deal was rejected three times – Mrs May quit as prime minister after three years.

Two months later, and the UK had a new PM, after Mr Johnson won the Conservative leadership vote against Jeremy Hunt. He referred to Brexit in his maiden speech, saying “the buck stops here”.

Early on, Mr Johnson faced criticism after suspending Parliament just days after MPs returned to work.

But pressing on with his “get Brexit done” message, Mr Johnson was adamant Brexit would not be postponed again.

Then, at the end of September, Mr Johnson suffered a blow when his decision to suspend Parliament was ruled to be unlawful by the UK’s top court.

MPs returned to work straight away – and the mood in the Commons was angry. Mr Johnson became embroiled in a row about the language used, and was criticised for one comment in particular:

Meanwhile, for the PM’s adviser, Dominic Cummings – who also ran the Vote Leave campaign – being in government was less pressure than the Brexit campaign.

Finally, Mr Johnson sent a request to the EU asking for a delay to Brexit – but without his signature – and accompanied by a second letter, which he did sign, saying he believed a delay would be a mistake.

And despite his “do or die” pledge, he agreed to an extension until 31 January.

After several attempts to get a general election, Mr Johnson finally succeeded – the UK’s first December election for 96 years.

He won with a big majority, meaning the path to “get Brexit done” suddenly became a lot smoother.

Last week, the PM signed the Brexit withdrawal agreement, saying he hoped it would “bring to an end far too many years of argument and division”.

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