Continuity And Change Following The Referendum

As Britain’s ambassador in Geneva I have often been asked in recent days about developments in the UK. There has been much uncertainty and some anxiety. I have sought to explain, but also to reassure.

On 23 June the British people voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. It is clear that some important things will change as a result. But many others will not change.

First, the things that will change. David Cameron has announced that he is standing down as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party. The Conservatives have the majority in Parliament and there are no plans for early elections. That means that Mr Cameron’s successor as leader of the Conservative Party will also become the next Prime Minister. She – and we now know the next Prime Minister will be a woman – will be elected by the party by 9 September. Mr Cameron will hand his resignation to the Queen, and the Queen will ask his successor to form a new government. I expect that to take place very quickly.

The new Prime Minister’s first act will be to appoint a Cabinet – to choose her senior ministers, the Chancellor (our finance minister), the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Home Secretary (our interior minister) and so on. As always, the main ministerial positions will be held by MPs, members of the House of Commons. Many will have already served as ministers, and some will be familiar abroad.

The first order of business for the new government will be how to implement the result of the 23 June referendum. The British civil service is now doing what it always does after a national vote: developing options to present to the new government. Unlike a General Election, there is no detailed party manifesto for us to elaborate this time. But there is a majority decision to implement: to leave the European Union. The job of the civil service now is to come up with plans for doing so, in the interests of all the people and nations of the United Kingdom.

There are many ways to leave the EU. Much has been made of the Article of the Lisbon Treaty that describes the legal mechanism for withdrawal. But in practice, how we do so will depend on what relationship we and our partners agree on.

Until that process has been concluded there will inevitably be uncertainty. But there are many good reasons to believe that the relationship is likely to be exceptionally and uniquely close, economically and politically. Arrangements will no doubt be found for EU citizens to continue to live, study and work in the UK, and for British citizens to do the same in the EU. And Britain will remain part of Europe, engaged in the affairs of its continent, as it has been throughout its history.

In the meantime – and that probably means at least the next two years – the UK remains a full member of the European Union with all the obligations and rights that entails. Legally, the referendum of 23 June changes nothing, in the United Kingdom or the European Union.

That’s why I have told my teams in the UK Mission to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Geneva to carry on as before. To attend all the meetings where the EU and its Member States coordinate positions ahead of, for example, the Human Rights Council or discussions in the World Trade Organisation. To bring the UK’s knowledge, weight and good offices to achieving common goals. From advancing the cause of sexual orientation and gender identity to heading off antimicrobial resistance, which will otherwise kill 10 million people a year by 2050. By responding to the refugee and migration crisis, the like of which we have not seen since the Second World War; and by joining up the Geneva institutions to promote a global digital economy, the source of so much potential prosperity for developed and developing countries alike.

These are EU goals. And they are British goals. The United Nations has a term for describing countries that work together because their interests are closely aligned: Like Minded. The UK and its partners in the EU are like minded across the international agenda, and that will continue whatever the relationship agreed between the UK and the EU in coming years.

In July 1945 the British people voted Winston Churchill out of office, to the shock and surprise of people around the world. In his speech conceding defeat, Churchill thanked the people of Britain for the many kindnesses shown towards “their Servant”.

It is in the same spirit that those who now serve the British people must respond to the 23 June referendum. To accept that the people have voted for change, and to deliver it to the best of their ability.