LONDON — Ten years after Britain voted to leave the European Union, the country is about to get its seventh prime minister, with the political and economic consequences of the 2016 referendum still unresolved.
The June 23, 2016, referendum fractured the country’s party system, reshaped immigration policy, and left a legacy of sluggish economic growth, according to analysts and historians who have studied Brexit’s aftermath.
Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, who called the referendum and campaigned for the UK to remain in the EU, resigned the day after the 52%-48% vote to leave.
His successor, Theresa May, quit in 2019 after failing to find exit terms that a divided Parliament would accept. Boris Johnson succeeded May and promised to “get Brexit done,” securing a bare-bones trade deal after negotiations that froze UK-EU relations. Johnson was ousted in mid-2022 after financial and ethical scandals, giving way to Liz Truss, whose term lasted 49 days.
Rishi Sunak followed and thawed the frosty relationship with the EU without major changes, according to the report.
Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who took office in 2024, promised a “reset” with the EU but refused to consider rejoining the bloc’s frictionless single market. On Monday, June 22, 2026, Starmer announced his resignation, citing a sluggish economy, malfunctioning government, and a divided and jaded electorate — all, at least in part, legacies of Brexit, according to analysts.
Academic Chris Grey, who has studied the fallout, said “the subterranean trace of Brexit” still runs through Britain’s increasingly unruly politics.
Campaigners for Brexit had promised that leaving the 28-member bloc would allow the UK to “take back control” of its laws, economy and borders. Margaret MacMillan, emeritus professor of history at the University of Toronto, said the Leave campaign was fueled by nostalgia for “an imagined past,” anti-immigration sentiment, and opposition to EU regulations. “It was never clearly explained what Brexit might entail,” she said.
The formal departure came on Jan. 31, 2020, with an 11-month transition period. The economy has struggled, with businesses facing new barriers to trade with Britain’s closest neighbors, though Brexit is not the only cause of low growth — the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine and Iran wars are also cited.
Hannah White, director of the Institute for Government think tank, said politicians have not been upfront with the public about trade-offs between taxes, debt and public services. “And so people are disappointed,” she said.
Immigration, a central divide, remains unresolved. Net migration rose after Brexit to more than 900,000 in 2023 before falling to 171,000 last year. But the debate has sharpened, contributing to anti-immigration protests and street violence. Grey said Brexit eroded the boundary between conventional politics and violence. “I think that boundary is being eroded,” he said. “And I think that did to some large extent begin with Brexit.”
A 2026 Ipsos survey found that 52% of UK respondents would vote to rejoin the EU, while 33% oppose it, reflecting a degree of what has been termed “Bregret.” A rejoin march in London on Saturday drew hundreds of demonstrators waving EU flags, a smaller turnout than protests during the Brexit drama.
Historian Anthony Seldon said Cameron called the referendum hoping to end Conservative Party divisions over Europe. “It didn’t,” Seldon told Times Radio. “The people who obsessed about it still obsess about it. Britain’s problems have continued.”
Grey said that until politicians are willing to face the legacy of Brexit, Britain faces an “undertow of low-grade crisis.” He likened the country to a person with a nagging illness. “A chronic thing, in this case perhaps not incurable,” he said. “But it’s just that they don’t fancy going to the doctor because they know it’s not going to be very nice.”