The UK in the world
Britain since 1945
The story starts in 1957, when six western European countries signed the Treaty of Rome and set up what was then called the European Economic Community, the body that grew into the European Union. The UK's laws were shaped by its membership for nearly half a century, until the country voted to leave in a referendum. The process took years and formally ended in 2020, when the UK left the EU and stopped being bound by its institutions.
Leaving did not switch EU law off overnight. So much UK law had been built alongside EU law that the general principles behind it kept counting as part of UK law even after Brexit, and courts and public bodies still had to weigh them. That ended in 2024, when the general principles of EU law ceased to be part of UK law. From then on the legal system stood on its own, no longer shaped by rules made in Brussels rather than Westminster.
What to remember
| The Treaty of Rome being signed | 1957 25 March 1957; the UK joined what it created in 1973. |
|---|---|
| The UK leaving the European Union | 2020 Four years after the referendum that decided it. |
| The general principles of EU law ceasing to be part of UK law | 2024 EU law had applied in the UK until this point, even after Brexit itself. |
Everything in Britain since 1945or the whole course, from the beginning