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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Kevin Rawlinson, Alexandra Topping and Simon Murphy

Brexit day: end of an era as United Kingdom leaves EU – as it happened

Closing summary

That’s all from us for this evening; one of the most consequential in recent British political history. For those of you who have reached this liveblog via our alert – you can follow all the latest news in this new liveblog (which will go live at 7am GMT)

Here’s a summary of the day’s events:

  • The United Kingdom faced up to an uncertain future as it left the European Union after years of political wrangling that followed the Brexit vote in 2016. The country now enters a transition period during which it will retain many of the privileges of membership, but have no say on rule-making.
  • The process of working out how the relationship between the UK and the bloc begins in earnest. The parties have until the end of 2020 to conclude a deal that replaces the current relationship on trade and other issues – an unusually short period of time for such negotiations.
  • Brexit will reinvigorate the UK’s “power of independent thought and action”, the prime minister claimed. Boris Johnson said the move would usher in “real national renewal and change”. But EU leaders said Brexit would show that “strength does not lie in splendid isolation”.
  • The sadness of leaving the EU will be “tinged with anger” in Scotland, the first minister said. Nicola Sturgeon said there was hope for Scotland as many prominent SNP figures focused on Scotland rejoining the EU, having gained independence.
  • Pro-Brexit hardliners held celebrations. Crowds waving union flags were addressed by a triumphant Nigel Farage outside Parliament in Westminster. The pro-Brexit MP Andrea Jenkyns held an event in Morley, in West Yorkshire.

My colleague, Jonathan Freedland, has tonight’s main story:

Updated

Despite what the UK government may say, Brexit is far from ‘done’. We guide you through the difficult next steps in the negotiations:

At 11pm GMT on 31 January, Britain officially left the EU after 47 years of membership. Downing Street marked the moment by beaming a virtual Big Ben on to No 10 to chime. Nearby, in Parliament Square, Nigel Farage led a rendition of God Save the Queen

Updated

Here’s some of Westminster’s reaction to the confirmation that the UK has left the EU:

An image of Big Ben projected on to 10 Downing Street
An image of Big Ben projected on to 10 Downing Street Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA

The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, has said:

The United Kingdom will remain a key partner for the European Union. I look forward to what I hope will be a very close cooperation with our British friends on our common challenges at the regional and global level.

There were huge cheers in Parliament Square as a simulated Big Ben chimed 11pm GMT to mark the UK’s official exit from the EU.

Nigel Farage spoke to a roaring crowd of thousands of Brexit supporters as he hailed the “point of no return” and the victory of “the people beating the establishment”.

After Farage led the countdown, the crowd joined in a rendition of the national anthem, many waving Union flags.

Pro-Brexit supporters celebrating in Parliament Square
Pro-Brexit supporters celebrating in Parliament Square Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

Updated

US promises close relationship following Brexit

The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has said:

I am pleased the UK and EU have agreed on a Brexit deal that honours the will of the British people. We will continue building upon our strong, productive, and prosperous relationship with the UK as they enter this next chapter.

While Downing Street has been counting down to Brexit this evening, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has been focusing on protecting the city’s reputation for openness:

A projection by the Mayor of London’s office at Piccadilly Circus
A projection by the Mayor of London’s office at Piccadilly Circus Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters

How does a nation say goodbye to its neighbours? With a lump in its throat and a poignant song of farewell – or with cheers and a raised middle finger of defiant good riddance? The answer that Britain gave at 11pm on Friday 31 January 2020 was: both. The UK broke from the European Union on a late winter’s night with both jubilation and regret, as divided on the day of leaving as it had been in deciding to leave. For some Britons, this was Independence Day. For others, it was a national bereavement.

As the UK takes the unprecedented step of leaving the EU, prominent voices from each remaining member state say goodbye:

UK officially leaves the EU

The United Kingdom has left the European Union.

As the clock struck 11pm GMT, the nation officially enacted the biggest constitutional change in living memory and, in doing so, became the first member state ever to leave the EU.

The momentous shift follows more than three years of political wrangling that has seen off two prime ministers and brought about radical change within the two main political parties.

The UK now enters a transition period that is due to run until the end of the year and during which the government is charged with the task of redrawing the country’s relationship with its closest neighbours.

Nigel Farage has taken to the stage at the Brexit celebration rally in central London.
The Brexit party leader has said:

In just 14 minutes’ time something truly remarkable is going to happen. Something that I fought for for 27 years and something many thousands of you have given your time and money for.

In 13 minutes’ time we will leave the European Union. We did it. We transformed the landscape of our country. There are some that say we shouldn’t celebrate tonight, but we are going to celebrate tonight.

There is one thing above all we must celebrate tonight and it is this: The reason we are here tonight is because Westminster became detached from the people in this country. The people have beaten the establishment. The real winner tonight is democracy. And I am someone who believes we should be pro-Europe, but not the European Union.

A crowd of pro-Brexit supporters have gathered at the gates of Stormont, the seat of Northern Ireland’s devolved government, in east Belfast to count down to 11pm GMT when the UK officially leaves the EU.

Many are holding Union flags and are ready to toast the moment Brexit becomes official.

A Lambeg drum was played and Chinese lanterns were set to be released at 11pm.
The DUP’s Jim Wells is among the crowd. The gathering, described as a thanksgiving, started with a prayer.

Boris Johnson has praised Steve Barclay for his work as Brexit secretary, a role that ceases once the UK leaves the EU.

The government has already confirmed that the Department for Exiting the European Union will no longer exist. The prime minister said of Barclay:

On the day that the United Kingdom leaves the EU, you can take particular pride that we are delivering on our promise to the British people to get Brexit done.

Your work, and that of your department, has been absolutely crucial in ensuring that we are leaving the EU with a great new deal and that we are in such a strong position going into the negotiations about our future relationship.

The founder of the Labour Leave group, John Mills, spoke to the Parliament Square audience about his experience in politics and said:

I thought we would do badly on trade and that the EU would sell more to us than we would sell to them, and that happened. They betrayed the fishing industry completely.

Mills said he had reasons to be sceptical of the EU in the nineties and believes those fears were valid. He added:

So today’s a great day: What we’ve done despite all the obstacles we had. We won a really important battle but there’s a long way to go.

A small group of people on push bikes, who were believed to be anti-Brexit protesters, was stopped by police from entering Parliament Square. They had attempted to ride through to the rally, but Metropolitan Police officers formed a line to stop them from passing.

A police officer at the scene said the group quickly dispersed but officers were then called to the other side of the square as the same group tried again to enter the rally. About 30 officers, supported by police on horseback, have now blocked off another street to prevent the group from moving closer.

A clock counting down the final hour before the UK officially leaves the EU is being projected on to the front of No 10 Downing Street, which is bathed in red, white and blue light.

A countdown clock is illuminated at 10 Downing Street
A countdown clock is illuminated at 10 Downing Street Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

A short walk away, on Parliament Square, a crowd is being addressed by pro-Brexit speakers. Among them is Richard Tice, of the Brexit party. He started off by describing Britain as a “confident” country that has finally achieved democracy before introducing his party colleague, Ann Widdecombe.

“We did it,” she shouted to the crowd. “And if we hadn’t done it Britain would not be embarking on a future as a free country,” she added. But Widdicombe warned there was “much still to do”. She said:

We will be free to decide how we trade, what our laws are, and how we control our borders. The fact that tomorrow we will wake up in a free country is due to the Brexit party.

She said there are people who want to “live in a free country and see nothing wrong with patriotism”. Widdecombe added that she believed Britain’s departure from the EU was all down to Nigel Farage’s constant campaigning.

We don’t need anybody to prop us up or to tell us what to do and of course we want to cooperate and have good relations, but there is a difference between a sovereign state and a superstate and we will never be part of their superstate.

The former Tory MP then urged the crowd to “rejoice in the day the Brexit party has made”. Tice then introduced Tim Martin, the pro-Brexit businessman behind pub chain Wetherspoons, as the next speaker. Speaking about EU citizens, Martin said:

This was not a vote against them but a vote against the EU institutions. The people of Europe are our friends and allies. A lot of Europeans have legally come to the country and have made great contributions.

Updated

Downing Street has posted Johnson’s address to the nation online:

Prime minister claims Brexit means 'national renewal'

Boris Johnson has proclaimed Brexit as the revival of the UK’s “power of independent thought and action” on Friday – but faced an immediate warning from EU leaders that “strength does not lie in splendid isolation”, Heather Stewart, Daniel Boffey and Rajeev Syal write.

As a clock was projected on to Downing Street to count down to the moment when the UK’s 47-year membership of the EU officially came to an end, the prime minister released a video message, saying it would usher in “real national renewal and change”.

Johnson insisted Brexit would mark a moment of “national renewal,” after which the UK could become simultaneously, “a great European power, and truly global in our range and ambitions.”

In our diplomacy, in our fight against climate change, in our campaigns for human rights or female education or free trade we will rediscover muscles that we have not used for decades. The power of independent thought and action.

Brexit celebrations have kicked off in central London, as hundreds waving Union flags gathered to mark the historic occasion.

The crowd was shown a brief history of Britain’s membership of the EU leading up to Brexit on a large screen above Parliament Square. There were boos from the crowd as Tony Blair and the BBC logo appeared on the screen, followed by cheers for Margaret Thatcher.

Brexit celebrations in central London
Brexit celebrations in central London Photograph: Isabel Infantes/AFP via Getty Images

The US-UK special relationship will “grow even stronger” thanks to Brexit, Washington’s ambassador to London has claimed. Woody Johnson welcomed the formal exit from the EU as being “long supported” by the US president, Donald Trump.

The diplomat said the severing of the 47-year tie with the bloc will allow a transatlantic trade deal to be forged to “increase prosperity”.

In the Yorkshire town of Morley, 350 people are crammed into the rugby club to celebrate the UK’s departure from the EU by chomping on Brexit Banger Sarnies (£4) and listening to a mutton-chopped guitarist in a flag-covered shirt sing songs including “EU give love a bad name” and “I want to break free”.

The party was organised by the local MP, Andrea Jenkyns, who provided the big shock of 2015’s general election by ousting Ed Balls from the constituency. Jenkyns is married to fellow Tory MP, Jack Lopresti. Their son, Clifford, was born on 29 March 2017, coming into the world the day Theresa May officially triggered Article 50. (Jenkyns’ website records her “thrill” at the coincidence).

Jenkyns, a classically trained singer, planned to herald the new era of UK independence by singing Jerusalem on the rugby pitch wearing a Union Jack-patterned fascinator shortly before 11pm. She said she organised the party in her constituency “because everything happens in London and not everyone can afford to travel down to London.” As she chatted, her Conservative colleague Lucy Harris, a former Brexit Party MEP who defected in December, appeared on a screen via videolink. Her name had been on the invitation but it seemed she had chosen to mark the moment in the capital. She was “sad” not to be able to make it to Yorkshire, she said.

Morley is “Brexit heartlands”, said Jenkyns.

It voted two to one to leave, and it’s been a difficult three-and-a-half years for the country, so I thought: Let’s mark this moment. Let’s come together because we want the best for our country.

Many revellers had dressed up for the occasion. Karl Arthur, a railway signal man and local councillor from Selby, was wearing a red baseball cap which read: “Make Britain Great Again”. He said he was looking forward to the UK controlling its own immigration after Brexit. “I like the idea of Boris’s points-based system,” he said. “I think it’s wrong to have a free-for-all. People come in for the benefits rather than to work.”

Wearing sequined black trousers and a top hat, singer and dog groomer Caroline Silvers said she was playing for free in order to mark the historic moment.

I’m going to show my age, but I remember when it wasn’t ruled by the EU. I remember how much better everything was. When I left school you had three different jobs to go to. We had industry then.

Jenkyns insisted she had only received a few complaints about the party from disgruntled Remainers. But in the Derbyshire town of Whaley Bridge, which voted to Leave the EU by a margin of just 50.55%, the White Hart pub cancelled plans for its Brexit bash after a stream of Europhile locals threatened to boycott the bar.

The landlord changed the party name to a “British music night”, promising patriotic playlist all night, “from the Rolling Stones to Coldplay”, but with no mention of the B-word. Explaining the change, the landlord said:

Whether you voted stay or leave we don’t care. This is just a celebration to embrace what was happened and we can all move on now ... So please no more politics because we have had enough of it all.

Updated

Here are some more thoughts from Guardian readers on Brexit. Katherine, a 79-year-old retired curator, says:

I am profoundly saddened. I belong to a truly privileged generation: Too young during the Second World War to be scarred by it and growing up as a child and adolescent in a British society that was steadily improving in wealth, social equality and personal freedom.

Free education, free healthcare, increasing freedom of travel, good career choices and opportunities. As a young woman, I lived and worked in Germany for three years, an immensely valuable and transformative experience. I adopted a European identity almost unconsciously.

Living most of my life in England has never diminished my profound identification with the land of my birth, Wales, and with Europe, but has merely added ‘English’ and ‘Londoner’ to the mix.

I am not an uncritical fan of the EU. It is a capitalist organisation that has made many mistakes. It can be arrogant and uncaring, and often turns a blind eye to abuses carried out within its member states. But its overall influence over the decades has undoubtedly been positive, and I simply fail to understand how any member state could voluntarily relinquish its membership.

Sheila Keane, a 63-year-old non-practising registered nurse and solicitor from Southampton, says:

The first time I was able to vote was in the 1975 referendum. I voted to continue our membership of the EC. I felt very positive about Europe and I wanted to be part of something that was larger than just us. I voted for peace.

I am also half Irish – my father came from Galway in the west of Ireland. We visited our ‘other home’ regularly, and we felt just as Irish as we did English. So, for me, it was a difficult time growing up during the Troubles.

When the Good Friday agreement was signed and the conflict came to an end, it felt truly miraculous. Therefore, I can never forgive the Brexiters for putting that hard-won peace in Ireland in jeopardy. They showed callous disregard for those communities affected by the border issues and were clearly prepared to trample all over the legitimate concerns of the Irish people.

Janet is a teacher who has lived in Germany since the 1960s. She says:

Walking across to my office this morning, I was reminded of how this all began. I woke on the morning after the referendum having fallen asleep in front of my tablet convinced that the result would be to remain. In absolute shock, I made my way to my office. I passed a hotel on the way. There was a small crowd outside. To get through I said ‘excuse me’. Someone immediately said ‘Are you English?’ When it became clear that I was, I was bombarded with questions – Why? – the point of this anecdote is that everyone around me was shocked, sad and tearful. It was a truly emotional experience.

As I sit here in my office in Potsdam all is now quiet. Somehow, it seems that this momentous day is just creeping stealthily forward to its conclusion- no fireworks-no fuss – nothing really.

Brendan Boyle, a US Democrat congressman, who travelled to the Irish border with Nancy Pelosi last April warning of consequences to the UK if a customs and checks were reinstated between Northern Ireland and Ireland has tweeted to thank those who made this did not happen.

Boyle’s father emigrated to the US at 19.

Pro-Europe campaigners have gathered outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh tonight. Guardian reader Sam Page, who is part of the European Movement in Scotland organisation that put together the event, says they are protesting “against being dragged out of the EU against our will”:

Protest against leaving the EU organised by the European movement for Scotland. Holyrood, Edinburgh
Protest against leaving the EU organised by the European movement for Scotland. Holyrood, Edinburgh Photograph: Sam Page/Guardian Community

The British flag has been removed from its pole outside the European Parliament in Brussels and replaced with the flag of the European Union.

Updated

There’s already dozens of Union flags on Parliament square as crowds start to form to celebrate Britain’s exit from the EU at 11pm GMT. A makeshift ‘Little Ben’ emblazoned with signs such as ‘Get it done Boris’ provides a steady drumbeat backdrop as a stage is set up for the Leave Means Leave rally later this evening. Peter and Lesley have travelled from Nottingham for the event. The former said:

We’ve waited three and half years for this, we shouldn’t have had to wait so long at all. We’re here to celebrate, not commemorate Brexit, and the fact that it’s happening, and we hope and pray that Boris will be as good as his word and we will actually fully, finally and irrevocably leave on 31 December.

The UK’s flag has also been taken down at the EU Council building:

The union flag flies alone at the UK’s permanent representation to the EU in Brussels after the European flag was taken down before Brexit. By midnight Brussels time (11pm GMT), the UK’s 47-year stay in the European club of nations will come to end.

Crowds have started to gather at Parliament Square in London ahead of the planned Brexit celebration later this evening.

Dozens of people gathered around the Sir Winston Churchill statue, while others rang bells and banged a drum attached to a modified cart called “Little Ben”.

A music system has also been set up inside the back of a lorry on Parliament Street, with people dancing in a closed-off section of the street to music by Sir Tom Jones and Queen.

As one man walked through the crowd with an EU flag draped over his shoulders, another man carrying the Union flag shouted at him: “Go away loser.”

Among the crowds were dozens of television camera crews and journalists.

Brexit supporters carry flags and placards as they gather in Parliament Square
Brexit supporters carry flags and placards as they gather in Parliament Square Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images

British people living in Brussels have contacted the Guardian with their thoughts about today.

Emma Woodford, who has lived in the city for 11 years and works for a European membership association, says it feels like the referendum only happened yesterday.

It’s awful. I’m completely depressed. I don’t want to go anywhere. I just feel this sadness and abandonment all over again. It’s still very fresh, the shock that the country you thought you belonged to and shared values with is not that place at all.

Woodford is planning to attend one of a number of events taking place in central Brussels this evening.

I think it will be good to be around people who are equally sad and frustrated – we can support each other.

Gareth Lewis, a research scientist, will not be celebrating.

There is absolutely nothing to celebrate about that which split, and will continue to split, our beloved country in two. I am a passionate European and Brit, and the two are not mutually exclusive. Living outside of the UK for more than 15 years meant I had no say in either the referendum or the 2017 and 2019 general elections. May we quickly realise that the garden is not greener without close friends and influence.

One reader, who works as a civil servant for the EU and asked to remain anonymous, says:

I’ll share a bottle of wine with sympathetic colleagues from across the EU in my small office at the European Commission. If my colleagues are lucky, they’ll realise the same sort of thing could happen in their home country.

It is the speed at which everyone here has moved on from the seemingly endless agonies of Brexit that is perhaps the hardest thing for people like me, who consider the 2016 referendum so ill-conceived that it should be reversed or at least reconsidered calmly. But this is how things have worked out: ‘remainers’ or ‘rejoiners’ will have to get on with their lives while keeping the dream of active and close cooperation with our neighbours alive.

A Guardian reader sent in this picture of today’s front-page of the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, a local paper in Cologne.

It features what can only be described as a handwritten love letter from the paper’s editor-in-chief to Britain, pining for the days of European unity, praising cultural British contributions such as the Rolling Stones, Harry Potter, and Shaun the Sheep, and hoping that, one day, the UK will return into the arms of the EU.

Front page of Kolner Stadt Anzieiger on 31 January 2020
Front page of Kolner Stadt Anzieiger on 31 January 2020 Photograph: Guardian reader/Guardian Community

Today is a “grave day” in the view of the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier.

His tweet reads:

[I am] with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, on this grave Brexit day. European unity is more necessary now than ever.

In his address to the French nation, Macron said the British people took a sovereign decision in the 2016 referendum and France has always respected it.

But he restated his belief that much of the referendum campaign was “based on lies, exaggerations, simplifications, cheques that were promised and will never be delivered”.

He said Europe was made a scapegoat, but that: “Europe can only advance if we reform in depth, to make it more sovereign, more democratic, closer to our citizens” so that “the desire to leave Europe will never again be the response to difficulties today”.

Macron sought to reassure French citizens living in the UK that their rights will be “maintained, preserved, defended”. Of British people living in France, he said:

Tomorrow, things won’t change. They are in France, their home. They are today, they will be tomorrow.

There will be unfortunately some practical consequences. They will no longer be EU citizens and, for those who have not asked for French citizenship, they can no longer, for example, stand for office in municipal elections. But the consequences are minimal.

Updated

We’ve been speaking to readers about their reaction to the UK’s impending EU exit.

John Stewart Young, 65, from East Lothian

I feel an overwhelming sadness that we are leaving. As a supporter of the union, I am deeply conflicted about the future for Scotland as I cannot help but agree that the present situation is now untenable. I don’t particularly see the advantage of independence but I don’t want Westminster run by it’s Anglocentric Tory cabal.

Where to go from here? I fear the schism opened by Brexit will never heal and we will be forever polarised into our camps. Why was this allowed to happen?

Fiona McGregor, from Clackmannanshire

I am unbearably sad and angry that our democratic voice has been ignored, that our parliament has been ignored and feeling awful for our friends and neighbours who are EU citizens.

This has also fired me up to get active on Scottish independence because, clearly, the devolution settlement is not sufficient to reflect our needs and wishes, or protect us from an out of control rightwing gang in Westminster.

Brexit is an English project. I am so pleased that the EU flag will continue to fly at Holyrood. On Monday, I will start campaigning for Indyref2 in earnest.

Keith Wall, a software engineer from Glasgow

Today, much of the pride and respect I had for my country will die. I cannot reconcile myself to the way the Brexit referendum was conducted and, for me, that invalidates the result. The two electoral tests since the referendum – both of which showed a majority of support for EU-favouring parties – only reinforce my opinion.

I shall be doing what I can to promote rejoining the EU. I don’t feel a natural affinity for the cause of Scottish nationalism – nor any other kind of nationalism – but if the SNP make a credible case for independence with a passion for rejoining the EU integral to that, I’m listening.

Updated

Scotland will hold Shine a Light for Europe rallies across the country tonight. The SNP has issued this photograph to underline its desire for continued membership of the bloc.

SNP handout photo

The Brexit party has vowed to hold Boris Johnson to account if he doesn’t deliver on the hard Brexit he has promised, and makes concessions to the EU. Its chairman, Richard Tice, has emailed supporters to ask for donations, something the Conservative party did earlier this week.

The Brexit party is not going away. We are the insurance policy. If the prime minister backslides on his promises we will be here to hold him to account and ensure we get the proper Brexit we voted for.

Updated

Emmanuel Macron has delivered his own address to the nation in France, describing Brexit as an “alarm signal” which should be heard across the EU. The French president said:

At midnight, for the first time in 70 years, a country will leave the European Union. It is a historic alarm signal that must be heard in each of our countries.

It appears the party has started, to a degree, in Parliament Square

The next generation Mini car has been delayed because of Brexit, according to the parent company, BMW.

The car’s development had been put on hold partly to cut costs and partly because uncertainty over Britain’s trade relations with the EU made long-term investment decisions harder, a spokesperson told Reuters.

The German carmaker has developed three generations of the Mini since buying the marque from Rover Group in 1994, keeping each vehicle in the market for about six years.

The current Mini hatch model, which has been on the market since 2014, is built on the company’s technological platform called UKL1.

“The lifespan of this platform has been extended,” the spokesman Maximilian Schoeberl told Reuters. “For cost reasons and because of Brexit.”

Updated

My colleague Jennifer Rankin in Brussels has tweeted images of the European flag being removed – rather unceremoniously – from the UK’s permanent representation to the European Union.

She writes:

The European flag has been removed from the UK’s permanent representation to the European Union.

A small crowd of mostly journalists and other onlookers watched in silence as the blue and gold starred flag was removed. At exactly 5.30pm local time an official opened a narrow window, reeling in the European flag and the union, which were flying on the same mast.

The union jack was then raised again to fly alone.

The UK permanent representation, known as the perm rep, is the nerve centre of British diplomacy in Brussels. From tomorrow, it will be rebranded as the UK mission to the European Union, reflecting its new status as a non-member state.

The lowering of the flag is a hugely symbolic moment, signalling British withdrawal from the EU. The European flag, however, is not only the EU flag, but that of the Council of Europe, a separate organisation that includes the European court of human rights and predates the EU.

Updated

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has said he made every effort to suppress his emotions throughout the divorce talks and will endeavour to continue to do so, whatever he may be feeling inside.

Talking to French journalists in Paris, Barnier said he got up every morning determined “to do my job without emotion. I have always stuck to facts and figures. I am not interested in polemics. I have simply been methodical.”

That is not to say that had no feelings, he suggested. “I am passionately patriotic,” he said. “But it is possible to be passionately patriotic and European at the same time, and if we don’t see that, we are going to end up as bit players. So that is my emotion.”

Barnier said things “would never be the same as before” between the EU and Britain, because “the British don’t want them to be”. He said the EU would be guided in the future talks by the principle that “we will not compromise to the detriment of the single market”.

The EU “respects the UK’s choice”, he said. “But they must decide what they want. They want to diverge from the EU rulebook – the question is, will it be a reasonable divergence, or will it lead to a situation of social dumping, of unfair competition? ... So the more they diverge, the less access to the single market they will have.”

Barnier said the risk of a new no-trade-deal cliff edge was real, but “the British have set the timetable. If Boris Johnson chooses not to extend the transition period, it will be he who has imposed a time constraint on the talks.”

Updated

Arch Eurosceptic Steve Baker has urged colleagues to be “magnanimous” in a speech in Westminster.

This article by my colleagues David Pegg, Felicity Lawrence and Rob Evans gives a fascinating insight into Baker.

Updated

If Nigel Farage starts this early, he might miss his own party.

The Sinn Féin leader, Mary Lou McDonald, has said Brexit is not an orange or green issue, reports PA Media:

“The majority of parties, Sinn Féin, the SDLP, Alliance and the Greens, a majority of MLAs and MPs in the north continue to oppose Brexit,” she said. “Neither the people, nor their political representatives have consented to the north leaving the European Union today.

“People who consider themselves to be British, Irish, both or neither will lose practical benefits and entitlements, and there is a justifiable anger about this.

“European Union has been a partner for peace in Ireland, it’s provided substantial political and financial aid that has led to greater economic and social progress on an all-island basis.

“The negotiation and implementation of the Good Friday agreement has been facilitated by both the Irish and British governments’ membership of the EU, and the peace process has benefited from that.”

“Negotiating a future relationship in 11 months is a tight timeline to say the least of it and represents a real risk of no deal,” she added.

“We must at all costs avoid this because we must prevent barriers to trade and commerce and our objective must be to avoid slowing business down or putting the cost of doing business up, east, west, or north to south.

“The provisions for avoiding a hard border through the protocol on the island of Ireland must be honoured and must take effect.

“There cannot and will not be any land border on our island. Failure to comply with the Withdrawal Agreement could see the European Commission begin infringement proceedings against the British Government at the ECJ.”

Updated

The Institute for Government has a really useful summary page about what is changing – and staying the same – during the transition period.

For anyone going on holiday this year this is key:

The UK will continue to be treated as a member of the single market and customs union and the EU has requested that states with EU trade agreements treat the UK as a member state until the end of transition.

Freedom of movement will remain in place and citizens’ rights will continue unaffected until the end of the period.

But speaking on BBC News, Georgina Knight from the Institute of Government said we do not yet know if UK citizens travelling to the EU from January 2020 will need a visa. That will have to be decided during the forthcoming negotiations.

Updated

Guy Verhofstadt has tweeted some rousing footage of “pro-European” Winston Churchill.

Updated

Have you been wondering what the chap who decided to have a referendum on Europe has been doing since the vote? Earning a cool £1.6m ...

Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin notes that according to an IFS report during the same period the country is £66bn poorer.

Updated

Some Guardian readers have found a novel way to cope with Brexit day … by going on holiday in Europe.

“My wife and I will be in Copenhagen for the weekend,” says Giles Williams, from London. “We will have reached the end of our self-imposed alcohol- and meat-free month so will break our fast, raising our glasses with a mix of emotions.”

Williams and his wife were able to obtain French nationality because they lived and worked in France for almost 10 years but, he says, “our personal good fortune will be tempered by the knowledge that many friends and none of our family will be able to retain the benefits of UK and EU citizenship”.

Anne Woodcock travelled to Alicante yesterday to purposely avoid being in the UK on the day of its departure from the EU. “Having signed petitions, marched and campaigned vigorously ... to stop Brexit, I cannot face the media focus on celebrations for what I believe to be a disaster for the country,” says the 74-year-old from Nottinghamshire. “I know it will not be rectified in my lifetime but I can only hope my grandchildren may have the opportunity to become full Europeans again.”

Andrew Kewell, 64, from Exmouth, is travelling to Bruges for a short break with his wife. “We will be drinking a toast to the EU [with] fine Belgian beer and looking forward to the inevitable day when we rejoin,” he says.

Updated

Here’s some footage captured earlier by some enterprising student journalists at Sunderland University’s SR News of Boris Johnson arriving in the city where he hosted cabinet earlier.

It’s fair to say it wasn’t a warm welcome, as protesters can be heard bellowing: “You’re not welcome here.” Despite the Tory party’s success at the general election, Sunderland is still very much a Labour stronghold.

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It is officially the UK’s most Eurosceptic town, so it is perhaps no surprise that Boston is set to celebrate “long into the night” to mark Brexit.

The town in Lincolnshire, where 75.6% voted leave in the 2016 referendum, will hold “plenty of parties” this evening.

One resident, Brian Shaw, 76, labelled it a landmark day for the country and declared he “cannot wait to stop being ruled by the EU”.

“I’m very pleased. I’ve voted Labour all my life until this time when I voted Conservative because I knew they would get it through,” he told PA Media.

“I don’t like the Conservatives, but they did what I wanted them to do. A friend of mine has got a union jack ready to put on his house at 11pm tonight. I’m usually in bed at 10pm but I shall stay up tonight - I’ll be celebrating long into the night, I’ve got the beer ready.”

Salesmen Jason Chambers, 37, Paul Burrell, 44, and Lee Blackbourn, also 44, bought a bottle of champagne to toast the occasion at the town’s Wetherspoon’s pub.

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Wales will not be intimidated out of standing up for its interests in future negotiations with the EU post-Brexit, the country’s first minister has said.

Mark Drakeford claimed Downing Street would have a “fight on its hands” if it moved to retain powers returning from the EU which fell into devolved areas of law.

Speaking in Cardiff, he said Wales would “remain a proudly European nation” but acknowledged that, along with the rest of the UK, it would experience “stresses and strains” in the future.

“Brexit may have happened but we are yet to step out into that brave new world,” he said. “And while Brexit may be done in that narrow sense, the impact of Brexit, the form of Brexit is with us for years to come.

“Here in Wales and in the Welsh government, we will not be hoodwinked by any simplistic assertion that Brexit is now over and done. We will not be browbeaten by the assertion that the decision to leave the EU is a decision that brings an end to debate or to discussion.

“And we will not simply be bored into submission by the reality that Brexit is with us not just for today but for years and years to come.”

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Meanwhile, there’s a thoroughly Glaswegian tribute to the EU via the Duke of Wellington statue outside the city’s Gallery of Modern Art.

Capping the guid duke, astride his horse, with a traffic cone became a night-time tradition in Glasgow in the 80s. Various attempts by police and the local council to quell the public’s enthusiasm for the practice have failed over the decades and now he remains with his cone in perpetuity.

But today, there’s something a bit different ...

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Another selection of comments from Guardian readers who’ve been in touch, this time to tell us why they or their family members applied for other EU nationalities.

Paul Stock, a solicitor from Saddleworth, has decided to return to his German roots:

We are a family of European Jews. We could recover our German citizenship by virtue of article 116 of the German constitution as my late father-in-law had to flee the Nazis in 1935. Myself, my wife, our three adult children and our granddaughter now have dual British/German citizenship. We were not prepared to lose our European heritage to Brexit.”

Tim Robinson, 46, a TV producer from London, feels estranged from Britain:

My husband applied for a Spanish passport, we spend about five months a year in Spain and most of his relatives are Spanish. Both of us are unhappy with Brexit and believe it is about English nationalism, certainly not about Scottish or Irish. As our ties to England loosen, we wish to draw closer to the continent. Put simply, we no longer feel citizens in our own land.”

K, from Cambridge, is conflicted about her children getting passports:

My three children will be applying for Irish passports, as they fear not being able to access EU funding for PhD research, transferring easily to other European universities, and travelling trouble-free for work. They also fear they could be discriminated against by EU-based employers for being non-EU citizens. I see dual nationality as a good thing, but I’m also jealous - my husband is automatically an Irish citizen, and now that my three children are, I hope I don’t get left behind.”

Mark, from Sheffield, on why he chose to become Irish:

I applied so I could retain free movement, and live in France as I wish. Under Schengen rules I could have only stayed in the Schengen area for 90 days in any 180. I would have not been able to use my house in France fully after Brexit. I now identify as Irish. I’m reading up on Irish history and culture and started learning Gaelic.”

Jan, from West Yorkshire, on her son’s new dual nationality:

My son has lived and worked all over Europe for 11 years, for various companies. Touring in Europe and internationally is a requirement of his work. He considers himself European, and fears we are rapidly becoming ‘little Britain’. I am delighted that he now has a dual citizenship that guarantees him the freedom of movement he needs to do his work.”

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Let’s take a look at some of the reaction to Nicola Sturgeon’s “practical, not cautious” speech about the next steps towards independence. While the urgency of building support for independence beyond 51% is recognised across the board, there are plenty of critics in the wider yes movement, many of them activists from the 2014 campaign, who want to know why the SNP has not been building a movement for the last six years.

In this interesting thread, Jonathan Shafi, a co-founder of the Radical Independence Campaign, points out some immediate challenges.

Other voices within the SNP are also critical of the first minister’s speech, with the Western Isles MP, Angus MacNeil, a long-time advocate of a direct challenge to Westminster’s refusal to grant powers for a legal referendum, describing her strategy as “hard to fathom”.

The prominent councillor Chris McEleny, who pushed at last year’s SNP conference for the “plan B” resolution – this would bypass the need for a second referendum if a majority voted for pro-independence parties at the next Holyrood election – was likewise sceptical. “What’s stopping us asking the lord advocate right now if he thinks the Scottish parliament has the legal competence to hold an advisory referendum on Scottish independence?”

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We have another video for you to enjoy, this time giving a light-hearted summary of the key moments on the road to Brexit. It features Theresa May’s dodgy dancing (remember that?), “not another one” voice-of-the-people Brenda, plenty of political soundbites and … Love Island.

Here’s the all-star cast who put it together: Noah Payne-Frank, Joseph Pierce, Chiara Fiorillo and Katie Lamborn.

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Anti-Brexit campaigners at the Irish border have unfurled a billboard declaring “the fight goes on”.

The campaign group Border Communities Against Brexit, which is staging a series of protests this evening, were joined by senior Sinn Féin figures this morning on the Armagh/Lough border.

Speaking on the Northern Ireland side of the border, campaigner Declan Fearon said: “We are concerned for the people who live here and the difference there will be in the rights people will have from 50 yards on the other side of the border to where we stand now.

“We will not be entitled going forward to the rights we were under membership of the European Union.

“So, it’s a sad day for this area and it’s a day where we are determined to continue to press all involved to make sure that we can mitigate against as many of the issues that Brexit had brought to the people of these areas.”

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Remain-voting Oxford’s council has raised the 12-starred flag of Europe above its town hall in tribute to “decades of friendship and cooperation” with Brussels.

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Here’s a neat Guardian video put together by my colleague, Elena Morresi, summarising EU leaders’ comments earlier today on Britain’s EU departure.

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Here’s a selection of insights from Guardian readers who’ve contacted us to reveal the different ways in which Brexit has impacted their families.

Nancy, who raised her children in France, fears for her daughter’s future:

“We are a family split by Brexit. My husband and I were granted French nationality because we have lived in France since 2001. Our two children have both been in French school since they were three and five, and our son was eventually granted French citizenship too. But our daughter was refused, as she was living in Holland to study for her degree, and the French authorities declared that meant she was not resident in France, despite her being dependent on us financially, receiving a French grant and returning every holiday and some weekends.

“She then went on to do a masters in the UK, which brought her no closer to having any right to reside in France after Brexit. She has grandparents, uncles and aunts as well as both parents and her brother who are all resident in France, yet doesn’t know if she can ever live in France again.”

Tom Parry, 43, a lecturer living in Amsterdam, is sad about having to relinquish his British citizenship for the benefit of his family:

“My wife is Bulgarian, I and my daughters are British, and we live in Amsterdam. Because of Brexit, I was faced with a situation where my daughters might be refused entry to their school, my driving licence and bank account would become invalid and I wouldn’t be able to legally rent my apartment. In the end I applied for Dutch nationality.

“Having been granted it feels wonderful, but at the same time it feels like a personal tragedy, as I had to renounce my UK citizenship. My father is seriously ill in Nottingham and having no UK citizenship has left me feeling rather anxious about what I can do, should I need to go back and look after him. I am English; I watch every single Nottingham forest match, I watch the BBC and read the Guardian. I love marmite, and I long for the hills of Derbyshire and my old stomping ground of Nottingham. I had always planned to move back home, because that’s what it will always be. Home. But I don’t know if I will ever be allowed to do that now.”

T, from Cambridgeshire, is hiding a Brexit secret from his partner:

“My husband is a staunch remainer, so he applied for an Irish passport, more to protest and symbolise his remain credentials, I think. He very proudly uses his Irish passport whenever we go to the continent. Note that I myself voted leave – I was swayed by Giles Fraser’s argument that the EU isn’t democratic. My husband does not know I voted leave and assumes I voted remain. To date, I have not corrected him.”

Danny, who lives in France, shares how Brexit affected his family:

“My children applied for other citizenships because of Brexit. I now have two children with UK nationality, one with UK/German nationality, and two with UK/French nationality and one day my wife and I may have either UK/French or UK/Irish nationality. It feels odd, but I do feel we’ve given the children an advantage in life.”

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In keeping with the government’s low-key Brexit celebrations, the Financial Times reports (£) that British embassies have been instructed not to hold special events to mark the day amid concerns “triumphalism” would be badly received by countries.

Boris Johnson will host a party in No 10 tonight for cabinet ministers and pro-Brexit advisers at which guests will toast the UK’s departure from the EU with traditional food washed down with English sparkling wine.

Canapés will include a savoury shortbread topped with Shropshire blue cheese, fillet of lamb, a ploughman’s of cheddar and pickle, skewers of roast chicken – probably not chlorinated – and roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with a horseradish sauce.

It is not yet clear whether his predecessor, Theresa May, will be invited to the party, which begins at 9pm.

Downing Street itself will be illuminated by a red light and blue light show, along with the Treasury, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Justice, HMRC, the Cabinet Office plus the Offices of Scotland and Wales.

The Northern Ireland Office, possibly due to community sensitivities over the colours of the union flag, has not been included. A digital clock will also appear in Downing Street to count down the final hour of the UK’s EU membership.

Cabinet ministers, government officials and Downing Street advisers have been invited. No 10 admitted today that trade with the European Union will not be “frictionless” after Brexit.

“You can only have fully frictionless if you accept all their rules. We have been clear that we will not be doing so,” the prime minister’s spokesman said. This will not affect travellers or businesses tonight but is expected to be introduced next January.

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Talk about having your cake and eating it. One of the government’s most vociferous Brexiters, the home secretary, Priti Patel, is celebrating today with a Brexit-themed sweet treat.

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Earlier we showcased the thoughts of some young people expressing regret at Brexit. Here’s a selection of (slightly older) leave voters who’ve been in touch and are somewhat more pleased.

Loraine Henderson, 60, retired, from Aberdeen, is absolutely delighted.

We are a great country, but we have been dragged down with the EU, enduring their rules, laws and being pushed around for so many years. My birthday is on 23 June – the day the people of Britain chose to leave the EU. It was the best present anyone could get. I don’t have any plans as such but I will make the effort to stay up and watch the telly to see the red, white and blue lights.

Matthew, 30, a PhD student at Swansea University, is positive about Britain’s chances of striking trade deals.

I am looking forward to the new opportunities that Brexit will present us. I think it will allow Britain to strike free-trade agreements with the rest of the world and allow Britain to pursue an even more pluralistic economy, in that we will have access to more markets over the long-term as well as, hopefully, striking a free-trade agreement with the EU.

Both remainers and Brexiters have passionately fought their corners with a bellicose spirit. It is time for us to put that bellicose spirit to good use, and remember, at the most basic level, we are all citizens of the UK.

Philip Matthews, 62, a lorry driver from Nottingham, claims the EU has bullied Britain and will celebrate this evening by putting up his union flag.

I don’t think we have ever been treated fairly. I feel the EU has always bullied us and never shown any respect. It may take some time but I truly think we will be great again. We are a strong country and I’m proud of it. Tonight I will be putting the union jack up.

Guy, 60, a farmer in Oxfordshire, will be celebrating with a glass of champagne.

Now we can make decisions that suit the UK and not compromise because some other country wanted a new motorway as part of the price for agreeing. We can trade under our own terms with countries such as India without asking permission or having to impose tariffs to protect European farmers. I will be working today but afterwards I will be celebrating with a glass of French champagne, which will still be available after Brexit in spite of threats to the contrary.

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The topic of Brexit graces the front page of almost every German newspaper this morning. The Frankfurter Allgemeine says: ‘Finally it’s time,’ and suggests the Monty Python song Always Look on the Bright Side of Life for those who need cheering up.

The left-wing daily taz has a flash of health secretary Matt Hancock’s union flag socks, next to the red heel of a female colleague, beneath the banner headline: ‘Goodbye and good luck.’

Among the commentaries, Christoph von Marschall says in Der Tagesspiegel it’s time to see Brexit as the chance for a new relationship, suggesting Britain’s departure may just be the type of impetus the EU needs to improve itself.

“Auf Wiedersehen,” says the front page of the Frankfurter Rundschau, above the union flag. It reports that Brexit opponents are already fighting for Britain’s return, and is running Brexit stories across pages 2, 3 and 4 and 13, but concludes: “Die Story ist nicht zu Ende” – the story is not over yet.

In an interview, Heiko Maas, the foreign minister, tells the paper: “This is no goodbye.” He says discussions between the British government and the EU to be concluded by the end of the year will be “intensive” and “high pressured”.

The Berliner Zeitung titles its main story “The Long Goodbye”, and says the question hanging over everything is “what’s next?”.The tabloid Bild says: “It’s Brexit for real today,” but its main commentator, Franz Josef Wagner, insists that while a political divorce is possible a spiritual divorce is not. He grew up, he explains, on Robinson Crusoe, Robin Hood and Rudyard Kipling. “As a boy I read Orwell’s Animal Farm and 1984, when I was older, Shakespeare, accompanied by the music of David Bowie, the Beatles, the Who, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd. And of course there was also James Bond, how could I forget him. And also Harry Potter.” He concludes: “Everything that we feel is so English so, from a psychological point of view, we cannot let England go.”

Meanwhile across Germany, fans of Britain, pro-EU campaigners, and British immigrants are gathering to commemorate the end of an era. At Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate a flash mob will draw singers from around the capital at midnight in a rendition of the European Union anthem Ode to Joy by Beethoven. Andrew Sims, a Briton and the director of the Embassy Singers choir, has said the gathering was an invitation to anyone who will “otherwise be sitting at home, sad and lonely”, he told Der Tagesspiegel.

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Starmer: 'We must make the argument for freedom of movement'

The Labour leadership contender Keir Starmer has suggested he will continue to argue for freedom of movement after Brexit.

The shadow Brexit secretary, who was making his pitch for Labour’s top job in a speech in Westminster, highlighted the care given to his mother-in-law in the NHS by staff from around the world.

He said EU citizens should be offered “rights, not tolerance” and that “we have to make the argument for freedom of movement”.

Asked whether that meant he would argue as a future PM for free movement to be reintroduced after Brexit, he said: “Yes of course: bring back, argue for, challenge.”

Freedom of movement ends formally as the UK leaves the EU, though the relevant rights will be retained during the transition period, which is due to end on 31 December.

Starmer was speaking at Westminster Cathedral – striding the stage without notes. He said the leave/remain divide had to end when the UK left tonight – including for Labour.

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Interested in how the Guardian reported the start of the UK’s near half-century foray into the EU? Here’s an insightful piece compiled by my colleague Richard Nelsson, who dusted down old stories in the archive from 1973.

Meanwhile, here’s a fascinating look at how the paper reported Britain’s entry into the EEC compared with the country’s EU exit:

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More from Ann Widdecombe’s Brexit party leaving stunt bonanza, as she was joined by fellow MEPs staging a parade in Brussels as they left the European parliament for the final time, led by a bagpiper.

Ben Buckland headed the procession around the Place du Luxembourg, trailed by Widdecombe’s union jack-decorated taxi. Fellow MEPs June Mummery and Belinda De Lucy, followed on foot.

A bagpiper leads Brexit MEPs as the depart the EU Parliament in Brussels for the final time.
A bagpiper leads Brexit MEPs as the depart the EU Parliament in Brussels for the final time.
Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

It comes after Nigel Farage received a telling-off during his last EU parliament speech for decorating his desk with miniature union jacks.

Spot the difference in tone when MEPs broke into song with a rendition of Auld Lang Syne after voting to approve the withdrawal agreement for Britain’s exit from the EU earlier this week.

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EU leaders warn of Britain's 'splendid isolation' post-Brexit

EU leaders have said that the UK’s future relationship with Brussels will never be as good as membership, as they warned against “splendid isolation”.

With less than 12 hours before the end of Britain’s EU membership, three EU presidents spoke of their ambitions for the future of the club, as they sought to turn the page on three and a half years of Brexit negotiations.

“We know very well that as the sun rises tomorrow a new chapter for our union of 27 will start,” said the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, setting out the EU’s ambitions to confront the climate emergency and adapt to increasingly rapid digitalisation of the economy.

She said the EU had become “a global economic powerhouse” over the last 47 years.

“Our experience has taught us that strength does not lie in splendid isolation, but in our unique union. Nowhere else in the world can you find 27 nations of 440 million people speaking 24 different languages, relying on each other, working together, living together. This is not by accident or by chance; this is grounded in centuries of shared history, decades of shared experience,” she said.

Reiterating the EU’s long-held stance, she added: “We want to have the best possible relationship with the United Kingdom but it will never be as good as membership.”

David Sassoli, the president of the European parliament, said no individual European country “will be able to cope on its own”, facing an array of challenges. “Just list all the issues faced by European countries … security, the environment, the economy, finance, migration – which of these problems could an individual country solve on its own? That is what makes Europe so useful.”

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Meanwhile, here’s the former European council president, Donald Tusk’s verdict:

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The European council president, Charles Michel, has labelled today “exceptional” as Britain enters its final hours as a member of the EU.

But he highlighted that the UK’s access to EU markets would be more restricted once the country had left.

“Today is an exceptional day for the European Union and today probably we have mixed feelings,” he said. “It’s never a happy moment when someone leaves but we are opening a new chapter.

“And we will devote all our energy to building a stronger and more ambitious European Union.”

Addressing a news conference in Brussels, he added: “The more the UK will diverge from the EU standards, the less access to the single market it will have.”

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The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, has said Britain’s departure from the EU today is “bittersweet” and that he is looking forward to a “new alliance, a bespoke relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom”.

The taoiseach acknowledged the UK would like to see a trade deal happen before the transition phase finishes in 2020 and said it would be “difficult” – although he was confident it could happen.

He said: “When I met with Michel Barnier on Monday we were united in our belief that we will begin this new phase determined to secure the best outcome for the European Union and our future.

“We’ll say goodbye to an old friend embarking on an adventure, their own tryst of destiny. We do hope it works out for them. But if it does not, there will always be a seat for the United Kingdom at the European table.”

Varadkar added: “The next step is to negotiate future relationships, including a free trade agreement, between the EU including Ireland and the United Kingdom that protects jobs, businesses, rural and coastal communities, and our economies generally.

“The UK would like to see a trade deal this year and it’s possible, particularly if the new trade deal is very similar to the current arrangements. It will be difficult though.”

But he made clear he was confident a “good” deal could be reached.

“We want free trade with the UK with no tariffs, no quotas, as little bureaucracy and as few checks as possible,” he said.

“I am adamant that our future partnership with the UK must go beyond trade. It needs to cover a broad range of issues, including fisheries, universities, co-operation on research and economics generally.”

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Here are the thoughts of some young people who’ve contacted the Guardian to give their take on Britain’s departure from the EU.

Sean Van Eynort, a 21-year-old student who lives between Worthing and Montesinho in Portugal, said the whole process had been very sad and that he was trying to obtain a Portuguese passport. He said:

I have a British mum and a Dutch dad. Having grown up living between Portugal and the UK (but having only a British passport) my identity has always been that of a European Brit. Today that identity feels like it is no longer allowed by what I thought to be my country.

So I feel deeply sad and hurt by what is happening today and can only hope for the best, and the speedy resolution of my application for a Portuguese passport! I am flying to Sweden this morning to spend a weekend with a friend I met while travelling. I hadn’t realised when booking that my flight would fall on Brexit day but I couldn’t be happier to be escaping for a few days to a nation I often wish we would learn from.

Eighteen-year-old student Alexander Shirreff, from Newcastle, is mourning today’s loss. He said:

I’m going to a vigil tonight to mark our exit from Europe, and I’m going to campaign for our re-entry from day one. I’m terrified we will fall further into the American sphere – I’d take Europe over them any day. Whatever hope leavers had for some ‘great’ Britain is going to be swept away when Scotland leaves the union. Who is to say Northern Ireland won’t leave too?

A 21-year-old Guardian reader from Newcastle, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was trying to be optimistic, adding:

I feel sad and a little sombre; I feel like I never had a voice, as I was frustratingly just one month too young to vote in the 2016 referendum. My maternal grandparents were Italian and emigrated to the UK in the 1950s. Although this was before the EU existed in its current form, I feel that if they were alive today, they’d be disappointed, as the EU was originally formed to prevent wars ravaging Europe and ultimately, stamp out the fascism which my grandparents tried to escape.

I don’t feel bitter or resentful towards those who voted leave; it was their democratic right to vote however they wished, and the crux of the issue is that leave voters all had different versions of Brexit in their mind’s eye, and Boris Johnson now has the impossible task of reconciling them all. I do think that the EU needs reform and isn’t perfect but the UK already had a pretty good arrangement and we could have effected reform by remaining a voting member, rather than isolating ourselves.

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Nicola Sturgeon has told SNP activists they must remain “focused and resolute”, as a new poll puts yes in the lead – by 51-49 – for the first time since 2015.

She insisted she was being practical, rather than cautious, and that she was not in the business of empty gestures. She said she would not pursue any legal action around holding a second referendum yet – though would not rule it out for the future.

The “next steps” which she set out this morning are all focused on building greater support among the voting public for independence. She also threw out a challenge to her activists to concentrate on convincing those who were closer to changing their minds now, rather than letting the Tories turn the independence debate into “an arid and bitter argument about process and procedure”.

She said that she would ask the Electoral Commission to test the question for another independence referendum – the next step in the process set down by the Scottish parliament for setting up a new poll – as well as setting up a new constitutional convention to marshal support from civic Scotland, and publishing an updated white paper with more detail on the case for independence.

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The future of science and medical research in the UK hangs in the balance because of Brexit.

Most research is collaborative and international with significant reliance on the seven-year Horizon2020 programme, which runs out this year. As yet, there is no decision on what happens to UK research beyond this.

Universities across the UK and the EU have today urged Boris Johnson and bloc’s leaders to make a swift agreement to secure continued research collaboration, student access to institutes across the EU and to the Erasmus programme. They said:

“We call on our national governments and the European Commission to act on the commitments of the political declaration and work swiftly to agree a basis for continued collaboration through the UK’s full association to Horizon Europe and Erasmus+.

“Swift agreement in this area of clear mutual benefit would be good for all of us and should be reached before the end of 2020, allowing for the development of innovative and stronger collaborations over the decades to come.”

Among the signatories are Universities UK, European University Association (EUA), Flemish Inter university Council GuildHE, the Irish University Association, League of European Research Universities (LERU), The Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions (SUHF), Swiss universities, The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA), Universities Finland (UNIFI), Universities Austria, Universities Denmark, Universities Estonia, Universities Lithuania, Universities Norway, University of Luxembourg and the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU).

Scottish sadness at Brexit "tinged with anger", says Sturgeon

The sadness of leaving the EU will be “tinged with anger” in Scotland, says first minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Speaking in Edinburgh where she is outlining the “next steps for Scotland’s future”, Sturgeon said: “But that’s not what I want to do today. Instead I want to focus on something much, much more important: Hope.

“Hope for a better future. A future in which our path as a country is determined by the people who live here.”

My colleague, Libby Brooks, is following the action:

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To give you a flavour of what’s ahead today, Boris Johnson is due to chair a cabinet meeting in Sunderland at 11.30am.

The Sunderland Echo reports: “The decision to hold the meeting on Wearside has been hailed as a symbolic move in recognition of the fact the city was the first to back Brexit when results were announced after the polls closed in the referendum.”

Johnson will then address the nation at 10pm, an hour before Britain is due to formally leave the EU.

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Leave a Light On for the EU events are popping up all over the country with candlelit vigils through Oxford, Ely, Greenock, Dundee, Brighton, Glasgow, Islay and Jura, Cheltenham, Winchester, Ipswich, Pitlochry and Stratford.

Organised events and rallies are also being staged in Edinburgh outside Holyrood, Liverpool, Newcastle Civic Centre, Bideford, Harrogate, Swindon, Doncaster, Bakewell.

There are also reports of efforts to organise procession from Downing Street to the European Commission offices in Westminster tonight. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald will unveil a new Border Communities against Brexit poster this morning ahead of protests being organised by the group later tonight.

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Ireland is braced for a series of protests along its border with Britain to mark Brexit day.

Anti-Brexit campaigners are also set to hold demonstration at Stormont later this afternoon, while supporters of the country’s departure from the EU will celebrate at the gates of Northern Ireland’s devolved government in the evening.

Campaign group Border Communities Against Brexit will hold protests at six points along the border. Meanwhile, Union Jacks will be waved and toasts made by Brexit supporters at Stormont.

Amid all the talk of Britain leaving the EU today it’s easy to forget that Downing Street still has the small matter of negotiating a trade deal with Brussels to resolve.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the BBC: “Negotiations will be fair.But, of course, each side will fight for their interests. And it is very clear that there are some fields where we have strong common interests. For example, the fight against climate change.”

She added: “Of course, we want to work together as close as possible. The crucial part is the single market.

“And there, there is a clear trade-off - the closer the UK wants to be to the single market, the more they have to respect the rules of the single market.

“If they do not want to respect the rules and the standards of the single market, the more distant, of course, they will be. So, this is the room where we have to negotiate.”

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While some Brexiters have struck a conciliatory tone, Ann Widdecombe has given it both barrels – leaving the EU parliament in a taxi decorated with a union jack.

To complete the performance, the vehicle of the former Tory minister – who recently joined the Brexit party – was led by a bagpiper on foot.

Widdecombe, who enjoyed an infamous stint on Strictly Come Dancing after leaving parliament in 2010, waved from the window at journalists.

Widdecombe said she has grown “tired of hearing nonsense” about the loss of young people’s rights to travel and work in Europe in the wake of Brexit. Speaking to PA, she said: “I have a mixture of feeling very, very jubilant and full of celebration but also profound relief because there was a time when I wondered if this day was ever going to come.

“Indeed it was at that point that I joined the Brexit Party to try and help to make it come.”

Ann Widdecombe reacts as she leaves the European parliament in Brussels

Ann Widdecombe reacts as she leaves the European parliament in Brussels. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

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We’d like to hear how you are feeling on Brexit day. Whether you are celebrating or mourning the country’s departure, how will you be spending the day? We would also like to hear about any events near you and are especially interested in hearing from young people about what they think.

You can get in touch by filling in the form here. The form is encrypted and your responses are only seen by the Guardian. You can also contact us via WhatsApp by clicking here or adding the contact +44(0)7867825056.

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Some newspaper front pages in Scotland – where people voted in favour of remain in 2016 – provide a different message to readers compared to most of Fleet Street.

The Daily Record declares Scotland has been “short changed”, with a mocked up version of the infamous Brexit coin inscribed with the words: “Isolated, worse off, weaker and divided.”

The National issues a plea to Europe: “Leave a light on for Scotland.”

Meanwhile, The Scotsman proudly showcases three flags on its front page with the message: “Farewell, not goodbye.”

Gove: 'I will be relieved and delighted when country leaves EU at 11pm'

Tory minister Michael Gove says he will be both relieved and delighted as the country leaves the EU at 11pm.

Gove, who is responsible for the government’s Brexit preparations as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, declared he is confident the country is ready to leave. He also claimed leaving will release the shackles on innovation so that the country can develop technologies to “feed the world’s poor”.

“It’s only the beginning actually of a new chapter in Britain’s history. There are lots of opportunities for us outside the European Union,” he told BBC Breakfast.

“There are commercial and economic opportunities but it’s also the case that it’s a chance for us, as a country, to come together, to recognise that many of the people who voted to leave, many of the areas that voted strongly to leave felt they had been overlooked and undervalued and now it’s time to bring our country together.”

Asked how he will feel at 11pm, he said: “On the one hand relieved that three and a half years of political wrangling are over, on the other hand delighted that what the British people voted for twice, in the referendum in 2016 and the general election just before last christmas, is at last coming to pass. The most precious gift that Britain has given the world is parliamentary democracy and we are restoring faith and restoring trust in that. In the future it’s the decisions that are made in this country that will determine what will happen in this country. That’s a really important thing. It means that every single individual’s voice matters equally, and it also means that politicians will be directly accountable.”

Asked for the top three changes that will be notable for the UK once it leaves the EU, Gove highlighted control of borders to “safeguard the security of British citizens, and we can also make sure we attract the brightest and the best”.

He added: “And the second thing, related to that, is that we can escape EU laws which have restricted innovation. So there are a huge range of areas where we can develop the technologies of the future which ensure that we can feed the world’s poor, that we can develop the technologies that will enhance all our lives, and will be able to do so without the bureaucracy that the EU imposes.”

Thirdly, he claimed Brexit will spread economic growth across the nation.

Updated

As an ardent Brexiter chairing the eurosceptic ERG group of Tory MPs, it might be fair to expect Steve Baker would be shouting from the rooftops today.

But the Conservative backbencher conveyed a much more measured tone speaking in the Commons yesterday. “I approach tomorrow in a spirit of some considerable melancholy, I very much regret the division which this country has faced,” he told colleagues in the chamber.

He added: “I will celebrate. I will allow myself a smile, I’ll allow myself that glass of champagne, I will enjoy myself. I will celebrate.But I will celebrate discreetly, and I will celebrate in a way which is respectful of the genuine sorrow that others are feeling at the same time.”

Updated

The day is finally upon us. After years of political wrangling, two general elections, repeated calls for a second referendums, and deadline extensions, Britain will today be leaving the European Union, ending a near half-century membership.

Many of Fleet Street’s newspapers mark the occasion in jubilant terms – the Daily Mail salutes a “new dawn for Britain”, while the Sun declares “our time has come” – but the Guardian strikes a different tone.

“Small island,” our headline reads, next to a picture showing a small Union Jack sticking out of a sandcastle at the foot of the cliffs of Dover. “After 47 years, Britain leaves the EU at 11pm tonight – the biggest gamble in a generation,” the paper adds.

Here’s a helpful guide to what’s happening today, including the prime minister’s late-night address, the countdown clock, Leave Means Leave rally, protest at the London Eye and … 50p Brexit coins. I’ll be kicking off the Guardian’s live blog this morning to take you through today’s action.

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