- Deadlines, we all face them every day,
things to do, places to be.
Since 2016, the UK has been obsessed
with one deadline in particular.
- Brexit. - Brexit.
- Brexit, Brexit.
- [Jason] It's a deadline
that's been pushed back several times.
- We're leaving on the 29th of March.
- On October the 31st.
- By January the 31st.
- Now, after three and a half years of negotiations,
it's finally happening.
- We are leaving the European Union.
- But although the UK is officially out,
it now enters a transition period
which comes with its own deadlines.
- This is not an end, but a beginning.
- Now the tricky part starts.
By the end of 2020, Britain and the EU
have to work out a whole new relationship
covering everything from finance to fish,
and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson
has said he won't extend that deadline,
but many analysts are already saying
that, again, that deadline could be difficult to meet,
and rushing things could potentially result
in a messy, hasty separation.
So when will Britain really be done with Brexit?
If the past three years are anything to go by,
it could be hard to tell. (pleasant orchestral music)
Britain's first self-imposed Brexit deadline
was set in 2016.
- Through an in-out referendum
on Thursday, the 23rd of June.
- [Jason] Cameron thought that setting a deadline
would force people to choose
so the country and his party could move on.
Of course, we know the vote didn't go the way he wanted.
- The British people have voted to leave the European Union.
- [Jason] But that didn't stop his successors
from also using deadlines as a way to coerce consensus.
- There will be no unnecessary delays.
And there can be no turning back.
- We must leave the EU on October the 31st.
- And if there's one thing we've learned from Brexit,
it's that deadlines don't always stick.
- The United Kingdom is leaving the European Union.
- [Jason] Prime Minister Theresa May
lacked the support in Parliament to get the Brexit deal
she negotiated passed into law,
forcing her to go back to the EU and ask for extension.
- We will need a further extension of Article 50.
- [Jason] After extension.
- I agreed an extension to the Brexit process
to the end of October at the latest.
- Showing that, without the backing of the UK Parliament,
those deadlines don't mean very much.
That's where Johnson comes in.
- And come out of the EU on October the 31st,
no ifs or buts.
- [Jason] Johnson replaced Theresa May in July,
and the first thing he did,
following up on a key campaign promise,
was to enforce that deadline.
- [Questioner] Can you make a promise today
to the British public that you will not go back to Brussels
and ask for another delay to Brexit?
- Yes, I can. - And, would you be--
- I'd rather be dead in a ditch.
- [Jason] But again, that didn't happen.
Just like Theresa May,
it was because he had no majority in Parliament.
Lawmakers forced him to send a letter to Brussels
requesting an extension.
The new deadline was set for January 31st.
His threat of a no-deal exit,
with Britain crashing out of the bloc,
was neutralized by Parliament.
His solution?
To call for a snap election.
- Vote for an election and let the people decide.
- Only after winning big at that election
was he able to ensure his Brexit deal
got through Parliament (group shouting)
and, this time, finally meet that deadline of January 31st.
There are now two deadlines on the horizon.
The UK's transition period
with the EU ends on December the 31st,
and if it needs an extension,
it needs to ask the EU by July the 1st.
Analysts have said that it is likely the UK
will be only partially ready by the end of December 2020.
Just like during the Brexit negotiation,
some EU leaders are already talking
about a possible extension period.
- Without an extension of the transition period beyond 2020,
you cannot expect to agree on every single aspect
of our new partnership.
- Johnson's strong majority in Parliament
means that lawmakers
won't cause him to miss another deadline,
but he may find that he's left himself
too much to negotiate before the end of the year
and decide to postpone.
If recent experience is any guide,
the UK's Brexit drama could be far from over.
(dramatic orchestral music)