On December 12, 2019, British voters will once again decide whether the U.K. is to forge ahead with the country’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) even without a deal, or to stay with EU instead. Although the matter had been previously decided in a referendum held in June 2016, in which 51.9 percent of those who cast their vote sealed the approval for Brexit, or Britain’s exit from the EU.
Brexit was supposed to take effect last March 2019, following a two-year period of negotiating a deal that would clearly define the changes that will transpire. The plan was that if a deal could not be reached, the UK will go ahead with the EU withdrawal even without a deal. However, despite the British Parliament’s rejection of the withdrawal agreements negotiated by former Prime Minister Theresa May and later by PM Boris Johnson, there is still no clarity on whether the whole of Great Britain will move forward with a no-deal Brexit
Latest Polls Show UK Citizens are Also Divided Over a No-Deal Brexit
Incumbent Prime Minister Johnson is pushing for the government to proceed with the no-deal Brexit. Yet this particular move has caused a rift even among Conservatives; leaving the no-deal Brexit proposal unsupported by the majority of those in the British Parliament. As recent polls show, most UK citizens have had second thoughts about Brexit, as 34 percent said they would prefer staying with the EU, while only 23% percent favor a no-deal Brexit .
Three times the no-deal Brexit was kept at bay, as the UK government stalled on that decision by requesting extensions of the deadline for the finalisation of a Brexit deal. The final extension though is set on January 31, 2020, but this time, the extension will be time used for holding a general election; giving the UK citizens another chance to decide whether to stay with the EU or to go ahead with the no-deal Brexit.