As part of their election platform, David Cameron’s Conservative Party promised to hold a new referendum on continued EU membership. The Conservatives were elected with an overall majority, and the referendum was called for the following year. Mr. Cameron said that if the vote was to leave, he would invoke article 50 of the Treaty of Rome, which allows for a member state to resign from the EU. This article provides for a transitional period of two years for the process to be completed.
