The Brexit Battle Trivia Quiz

Answer: David Cameron

During the first decade of the 21st century, pressure began to mount for the UK to hold a formal referendum on its continued membership of the European Union. Eventually, the Conservative Party led by David Cameron promised to instigate this if it won the 2015 General Election. It did win, and Cameron was obliged to fulfill his promise.

The day after the results of the vote were announced, Cameron announced his decision to step down as PM, giving as his reason the fact that having campaigned for a "Remain" vote, he felt unable to continue, and that the country needed a leader with the same convictions as the "Leave" voting majority of the country.

Answer: Andrea Leadsom

At the time of her leadership bid, Andrea Leadsom had held the post of Minister of State for Energy & Climate Change since 2015 Following Theresa May's success, she was given the position of Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the cabinet.

Other candidates who formally stood against May were Liam Fox, Stephen Crabb and Michael Gove. Of the five candidates, three (Fox, Gove and Leadsom) were "leave" supporters, while Crabb and May were supporters of remaining in the EU.

Answer: Article 50

The Lisbon Treaty (which includes Article 50) was agreed by EU member states in 2009, and is in theory a simple agreement covering the five steps a member state must take in order to leave, and allows two years for these criteria to be filled. What it doesn't cover is the framework agreement for future relations with the EU, and this is where a lot of the murky waters lie.

Some experts believe that it could take ten years or even longer to be fully free of the EU, citing the example of Switzerland, which signed its first framework agreement with the EU in 1972 but was still negotiating in 2018.

Answer: 52%

A simple majority was needed for the result of the referendum to stand, and that was achieved, with overall 52% voting in favour of leaving. Broken down by member countries of the UK, 53% voted to leave in England and 52% of Wales. However, in Scotland and Northern Ireland it was a different story, as only 38% voted to leave in Scotland and 44% in Northern Ireland.

Answer: David Davis

Davis was a former chairman of the Conservative Party. He had campaigned for the UK to leave the EU, and made history as the first holder of the position of "Brexit Secretary". However, he resigned in July 2018 saying he was unable to support Theresa May's "Chequers" Brexit plan as he believed it left the UK still in thrall to the EU in too many areas.

He was replaced by Dominic Raab, who also quit just four months later, saying he felt that there were fatal flaws in the draft Brexit deal and Theresa May was allowing herself to be blackmailed by the EU.

Answer: 29th March 2019

Friday 29th March 2019 at 11pm UK time was the date agreed, although it was noted that this date could be altered, providing all 28 EU members agree. Two years may sound like a long time to sort out a "divorce" procedure but I'm glad I wasn't involved in the process.

Answer: Boris Johnson

Johnson stated in his resignation letter that if Theresa May's "soft Brexit plans" were adopted, the UK was headed "for the status of a colony." He also said that although he had tried to support May's plan, "the trouble is that I have practised the words over the weekend and find that they stick in the throat, therefore since I cannot in all conscience champion these proposals, I have sadly concluded that I must go."

Johnson was born in New York City and his full name is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. He had been expected to run for leadership of the Conservative party when David Cameron resigned, but withdrew from the race when Michael Gove decided to stand against him. In 2004, he was heard to say "My chances of being PM are about as good as the chances of finding Elvis on Mars, or my being reincarnated as an olive." However, it should be remembered that Margaret Thatcher said in 1973 "I don't think there will be a woman Prime Minister in my lifetime."

Thanks to theguardian.com for the quotes

Answer: Norway and Canada

Norway is not a member the EU but is the EU's fifth most important import partner, with trade from Norway to the EU being worth almost 100 billion euros in 2018. Norway is a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) and was a founding member of EFTA, the European Free Trade Association. Canada operates a free trade agreement with the EU called Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement or CETA which has eliminated almost all of the trade tariffs between the two parties.

Answer: True

Although no member state has ever voted to leave, a part of a member state has, when Greenland, which is one of Denmark's overseas territories, after winning a large degree of self-government from Denmark in 1979, held a referendum in 1982. 52% of Greenlanders voted to leave the EU and after protracted negotiations between Greenland, Denmark and the EU finally achieved this in 1985 although they are still subject to the EU treaties.

Answer: Nigel Farage

Farage had campaigned for over 15 years for the UK to leave the EU, taking his campaign to the very heart of the organisation itself after being elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 1999. He resigned as leader of UKIP in July 2016, saying that his work had been done and he intended to quit politics for good.

However, in September 2018 he became vice-chairman of the pro-Brexit organisation "Leave Means Leave" and announced his plans to campaign against Theresa May's "fraudulent plans" for Brexit.