Vote Leave

Vote Leave

Successor	Change Britain
Formation	8 October 2015 (2015-10-08)
Purpose	UK withdrawal from the EU in the 2016 referendum
Headquarters	Westminster Tower
Location	United Kingdom
Region served	United Kingdom
Key people	Gisela Stuart (chair) Matthew Elliott (CEO) Dominic Cummings (campaign director) Victoria Woodcock (operations director and company secretary) Thomas Borwick (CTO) Henry de Zoete (digital director) Michael Gove Boris Johnson
Affiliations	Business for Britain, Conservatives for Britain, Labour Leave, BeLeave, Students for Britain
Staff	51–200
Website	www.voteleavetakecontrol.org

Part of a series of articles on
Brexit
Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union Glossary of terms
Background European Communities Act 1975 EC membership referendum UK rebate Bruges speech No. No. No. Maastricht Rebels Black Wednesday European Union (Amendment) Act 2008 European Union Act 2011 UK opt-outs from EU legislation Euroscepticism in the UK UK opinion polling on EU membership Campaigns for a referendum People's Pledge Labour for a Referendum Bloomberg speech In or Out 2013–14 EU (Referendum) Bill (unsuccessful) 2014 European Parliament election 2014 UK Parliament by-elections Clacton Heywood and Middleton Rochester and Strood 2015 UK general election 2015–16 EU membership renegotiation
2016 EU referendum EU Referendum Act (Gibraltar) EU Referendum (Date of Referendum etc.) Regulations EU Referendum (Conduct) Regulations Issues Endorsements Opinion polling UK Government pro-EU leaflet Campaigns Leave campaigns Vote Leave (official) Business for Britain Conservatives for Britain BeLeave Leave.EU Bpoplive The Freedom Association Better Off Out Grassroots Out Labour Leave Get Britain Out Bruges Group Campaign for an Independent Britain Brexit: The Movie Remain campaigns Britain Stronger in Europe (official) Labour In for Britain European Movement UK Britain in Europe British Influence Business for New Europe Nucleus Project Fear Outcome Results Causes for result International reactions Immediate aftermath 2016 Conservative Party election 2016 Labour Party election 2016 UKIP election Department for Exiting the EU Department for International Trade Allegations of unlawful campaigning Alleged Russian interference
Notice of withdrawal Article 50 process Miller case (Article 50) EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017 Brexit plan Repeal Bill plan 2017 UK general election
Negotiations Negotiation positions EU negotiation mandate Chequers agreement Timeline: 2017, 2018, 2019 2019 European Parliament election 2019 UK general election
Withdrawal agreement Brexit divorce bill Fish for finance Irish backstop No-deal Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol Northern Ireland Protocol Bill Windsor Framework
Legislation Withdrawal Act 2018 (Gibraltar) Nuclear Safeguards Act 2018 Cooper–Letwin Act Benn Act 2019 suspension of rebel Conservative MPs Public Vote Bill (not passed) Terms of Withdrawal Bills (not passed) Scottish EU Continuity Bill (blocked) Withdrawal Agreement Act (Gibraltar) Scottish EU Continuity Act Internal Market Act EU (Future Relationship) Act Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill
Impact Impact on the Irish border Good Friday Agreement Impact on the EU Economic effects Effects on Gibraltar Scientific cooperation Effects on popular culture Retained EU law 2021 Jersey dispute
EU–UK relations Relations pre- and post-Brexit EU–UK trade negotiation EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) Partnership Council Partnership Assembly Relations with EU member states Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Akrotiri and Dhekelia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Ireland–UK border British–Irish Council North/South Ministerial Council Italy Lithuania Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Spain Status of Gibraltar Gibraltar–Spain border Sweden Conjectured EEA membership
Opposition Post-referendum opinion polling New initiatives Change Britain More United Open Britain The New European Unite to Remain Led By Donkeys Revoke Article 50 petition Postcards from the 48% Proposed second Scottish independence referendum Calls for a second referendum People's Vote Britain for Europe European Movement UK For our Future's Sake Healthier IN the EU InFacts Open Britain Our Future Our Choice Scientists for EU Other organisations Best for Britain Bollocks to Brexit Change UK Liberal Democrats Right to Vote
Timeline Bloomberg speech Jan 2013 Referendum Bill blocked Jan 2014 European Parliament election May 2014 2015 general election May 2015 Renegotiation begins Jun 2015 Referendum Act passed Dec 2015 Renegotiation concluded Feb 2016 Referendum held Jun 2016 David Cameron resigns as PM Jul 2016 Theresa May becomes PM Jul 2016 Article 50 judgement Jan 2017 Brexit plan presented Feb 2017 Notification Act passed Mar 2017 Article 50 invoked Mar 2017 Repeal Bill plan presented Mar 2017 2017 general election Jun 2017 Brexit negotiations begin Jun 2017 Withdrawal Act passed Jun 2018 Chequers plan presented Jul 2018 Withdrawal agreement plan presented July 2018 Withdrawal agreement released Nov 2018 Scottish Continuity Bill blocked Dec 2018 Meaningful votes Jan–Mar 2019 Brexit delayed until 12 April Mar 2019 Cooper–Letwin Act passed Apr 2019 Brexit delayed until 31 October Apr 2019 European Parliament election May 2019 Theresa May resigns as PM Jul 2019 Boris Johnson becomes PM Jul 2019 Prorogation and annulment Aug–Sep 2019 Benn Act passed Sep 2019 Withdrawal agreement revised Oct 2019 Brexit delayed until 31 January Oct 2019 2019 general election Dec 2019 Agreement Act passed Jan 2020 UK leaves the European Union Jan 2020 Implementation period begins Jan 2020 UK–EU trade deal agreed Dec 2020 Future Relationship Act passed Dec 2020 Scottish Continuity Act passed Dec 2020 Implementation period ends Dec 2020 New EU–UK relationship begins Jan 2021 UK–EU trade deal ratified Apr 2021 Windsor Framework released Feb 2023 Windsor framework adopted Mar 2023
EU portal UK portal
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Part of a series of articles on
UK membership of the European Union (1973–2020)
Accession Treaty of Accession 1972 1972 EC Act 1973 enlargement of the EC
1975 referendum Referendum Act (results)
Treaty amendments Single European Act, 1986 (UK ratification) Maastricht Treaty, 1992 (UK ratification) Treaty of Amsterdam, 1997 (UK ratification) Treaty of Nice, 2001 (UK ratification) Treaty of Lisbon, 2007 (UK ratification) Related: 2011 UK Act on new EU Treaty amendments EU-related British Acts Proposed European Constitution referendum European Union Bill 2004–2005
MEPs for UK constituencies Members 1973–1979 (elected by parliament) Members 1979–1984 (1979 election) Members 1984–1989 (1984 election) Members 1989–1994 (1989 election) Members 1994–1999 (1994 election) Members 1999–2004 (1999 election) Members 2004–2009 (2004 election) Members 2009–2014 (2009 election) Members 2014–2019 (2014 election) Members 2019–2020 (2019 election) Women
Officials and bodies House of Lords EU Committee House of Commons EU Committee Permanent EU Representatives for UK Northern Ireland Executive in Brussels EU Representative in London UK European Commissioners Department for Exiting the European Union
Issues and events Economy The Euro Black Wednesday UK budget rebate Nationality law Euroscepticism in the UK United Kingdom opt-outs from EU legislation Maastricht Rebels Balance of Competences Review
Withdrawal 2015 UK general election 2015–2016 membership renegotiation 2016 EU membership referendum Vote Leave Britain Stronger in Europe Notification of withdrawal 2017 UK general election Brexit negotiations Impact of Brexit Future relationship Withdrawal agreement No-deal Brexit Impact on Irish border Northern Ireland Protocol Parliamentary votes Proposed second referendum 2019 UK general election
EU portal UK portal
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Vote Leave was^[1] a campaigning organisation that supported a "Leave" vote in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.^[2] On 13 April 2016 it was designated by the Electoral Commission as the official campaign in favour of leaving the European Union in the Referendum.^[3]

Vote Leave was founded in October 2015 by political strategists Matthew Elliott and Dominic Cummings as a cross-party campaign. It involved Members of Parliament from the Conservative Party, Labour Party and the sole UKIP MP, Douglas Carswell along with MEP Daniel Hannan and Conservative peer Lord Lawson. Labour MP Gisela Stuart served as chairman and Leader of the Vote Leave Campaign Committee as Co-Convenor with Michael Gove MP, of the Conservatives.^[4] The campaign was also supported by a number of prominent politicians; including outgoing Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who became a key figurehead for the Vote Leave campaign. A number of Vote Leave principals, including Douglas Carswell, Michael Gove, Bernard Jenkin and Anne-Marie Trevelyan, were also members of the influential IPSA resourced European Research Group.

Vote Leave co-operated with Labour Leave, Conservatives for Britain and Business for Britain throughout the referendum campaign.^[5]

At the referendum held on Thursday 23 June 2016, the majority of those who voted, voted for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, which was equivalent to a 51.9% share of the vote (a 3.8% margin); which set into motion the steps to be taken for British withdrawal from the European Union. In September 2016, Change Britain was formed to act as a successor organisation.

On 23 June and over the following days, both Vote Leave and its rival organisation, "Britain Stronger in Europe", were excoriated by sections of the media and academia for a campaign described by the Electoral Reform Society as "dire", which left the public seriously lacking proper information. On 17 July 2018, Vote Leave was fined £61,000 and referred to police for breaking electoral spending laws.^[6][7]