Navigating the Potential Impact of Brexit on the Chemicals and Allied Industries
Brexit stands for British exit from the European Union. In order to calm the rising Euroscepticism of his own party and of vocal rival parties, such as the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Prime Minister Cameron announced in January 2013 his intention to give U.K. voters the opportunity to decide in a referendum on whether the United Kingdom should be IN or OUT of the European Community. On June 23, 2016, the result was that the electorate voted to leave the EU by a narrow margin of 51.89% to 48.11%. In fact, the majority in England and Wales were in favor of leaving, while the majority in Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain. Cameron had taken a risky gamble on the referendum and had underestimated the strength of Brexit feeling in certain parts of the United Kingdom. He paid for this miscalculation with his own political career.