15 Feb 2019
The government's House of Commons defeat on 14 February may have sharpened divisions within the main political parties, but it changed nothing of substance. The legal position is governed by the terms of the EU (Withdrawal) Acts 2017 and 2018. The 2017 Act authorised the UK government to trigger the two year Article 50 notice period, which expires on 29 March 2019. The 2018 Act includes amendments conceded by the government to avert a Parliamentary defeat, and which locked in 11.00pm on 29 March 2019 as the "Exit day". Unless primary legislation is enacted to alter that position, the UK will cease to be a member state of the EU on that date, whether or not there is a "deal".