ABSTRACT
The perennial themes of sovereignty, free trade and the financial cost of membership which had kept the United Kingdom (UK) out of the European Communities in the early years. As soon as the result of the 2016 referendum was known, Theresa May, at that time still Home Secretary and officially a Remainer, stated that she accepted the outcome and coined the line that would become her catchphrase in the subsequent weeks and months: 'Brexit means Brexit'. David Cameron set the timetable that culminated with the Brexit vote of 2016. From then on, the UK future relationship with Europe would increasingly depend rather on the whims and timings of the rest of the European Union (EU) more than perhaps anyone in the UK, be they Remainer or Leaver, had ever really thought through before the whole 'reform, renegotiation and referendum' mantra was introduced.
