To Seek a 1 year Extension to the Brexit Transition Period & a Second Referendum

To seek a 1 year extension to the Brexit Transition Period so that negotiations on the future EU-UK relationship can be concluded and a referendum conducted. The UK public can assent or reject the terms. A rejection would mean that the Government would commit to seeking re-entry to the EU.

The deadline by when an extension could have been agreed, 1 July 2020, has now passed. The transition period ends on 31 December 2020. This is a matter of UK law, and a clear commitment of the 2019 Conservative Manifesto. The Government will not be extending the transition period in any circumstance, as ministers confirmed in Parliament on 5 October.

We have been repeatedly clear that any agreement with the EU needs to be in place before the end of the transition period, and that if an agreement cannot be reached, we will leave on Australia-style terms.

We need to be able to design our own rules, in our best interests, to best manage our response to coronavirus, without the constraints of following EU rules.

An extension to the transition period would bind us into future EU legislation, without us having any say in designing these laws.

Cabinet Office