Summary

  • BBC Reality Check gets to the facts behind the claims in the EU referendum campaign and beyond

  • The referendum took place on 23 June 2016 - the UK voted to leave the EU

  • On this page you will find all the checks the team has done so far

  1. What has Brexit done to the economy?published at 13:38 British Summer Time 29 June 2016

    Reality Check

    A pound and euro coin on an EU flagImage source, PA

    The claim: The damage done to the economy has already been many times the value of the UK's contribution to the EU Budget. 

    Reality Check verdict: There may already have been an impact on the economy or the public finances but we do not yet have data showing that. The indicative cost of borrowing for the government has actually fallen. 

    Read the full Reality Check here.

  2. Have MEPs done 'proper jobs'?published at 20:55 British Summer Time 28 June 2016

    Reality Check

    Nigel Farage MEP saying: "I know that virtually none of you have ever done a proper job in your lives."

    The claim: MEPs have not done "proper jobs" that benefit the economy. 

    Reality Check verdict: It depends on your definition of a "proper job". Of the 14 MEPs who spoke on Tuesday, 13 have spent part of their careers outside politics. Five have worked in business or trade (including the financial services sector and private sector). Of these, four have started their own business, including Nigel Farage MEP. 

    Read the full Reality Check here.

  3. Could there be a second referendum?published at 15:34 British Summer Time 28 June 2016

    Reality Check

    Jeremy Hunt saying: We need to negotiate a deal and put it to the British people, either in a referendum or through the Conservative manifesto at a fresh general election.

    The claim: There could be another referendum on the UK's relationship with the European Union.

    Reality Check verdict: A second referendum on the UK's membership of the EU seems both unlikely to happen and unlikely to give a different result to the first one. A referendum on the deal reached for leaving the EU is possible but not required by current legislation.

    Read the full Reality Check here.

  4. Have leave campaigners changed their tune?published at 18:36 British Summer Time 27 June 2016

    Reality Check

    The Reality Check team looks at some of the claims and promises made during the campaign by leave campaigners, who now appear to have shifted their position on some key issues.   

    MEP Nigel Farage standing in front of a poster showing a long queue of migrants.Image source, EPA

    Immigration

    The campaign claim: Immigration levels could be controlled if the UK left the EU. This would relieve pressure on public services.

    The current claim: Immigration levels can't be radically reduced by leaving the EU. Fears about immigration did not influence the way people voted.

    Reality Check verdict: During the campaign, some Leave campaigners sent a clear message that the referendum was about controlling immigration. Some are now being more nuanced, saying the UK's decision to leave the EU would not guarantee a significant decrease in immigration levels.

    Campaign busImage source, AFP

    Contributions to the EU budget

    The campaign claim: We send £350m a week to Brussels, which could be spent on the NHS instead.

    The current claim: The claim was a mistake, and we will not be able to spend that much extra on the NHS.

    Reality Check verdict: Some of those who campaigned for Leave are now distancing themselves from this claim. Some have gone as far as admitting that it had been a mistake.

    Shipping containersImage source, AFP

    The single market

    The campaign claim: Some on the Leave side suggested the UK does not need preferential access to the single market.

    The current claim: The UK should get preferential access to the single market but will not have to accept freedom of movement to get it.

    Reality Check verdict: The position has shifted from claims the UK could trade under World Trade Organisation rules to one which suggests the UK will continue to have preferential access to the single market, but at the same time having some control over immigration levels.

    Read the full Reality Check here. 

  5. Does the UK have to trigger Article 50?published at 15:48 British Summer Time 27 June 2016

    Reality Check

    Chancellor George Osborne saying: "Only the UK can trigger Article 50. We should only do that when there is a clear view about what new arrangements we are seeking with our European neighbours."

    The claim: The UK does not have to start the formal process of leaving the EU until a time of its choosing.

    Reality Check verdict: There is no legal limit on how long the UK can wait before it invokes the article. The article states that the exit negotiations would take up to two years but may be extended if all the EU countries agree unanimously that more time is needed.

    Read the full Reality Check here. 

  6. Could there be free trade without free movement?published at 14:53 British Summer Time 27 June 2016

    Reality Check

    Chris Grayling saying: We need a free trade agreement with the European Union, which allows us to control the flow of people into and out of the country.

    The claim: There could be a free trade agreement between the UK and the European Union that allows the UK to limit freedom of movement. 

    Reality Check verdict: The UK can aim for a deal that allows full preferential access to the single market without having to accept freedom of movement, but no country has managed such a deal so far and some European politicians have said they would oppose it.

    Read the full Reality Check here.

  7. Will there be a referendum for a united Ireland?published at 19:54 British Summer Time 24 June 2016

    Martin McGuinness saying: "I do believe that there is a democratic imperative for a 'border poll' to be held."

    The claim: Following the UK's decision to leave the EU, Northern Ireland could hold a border poll on the reunification of Ireland. 

    Reality Check verdict: The circumstances required to trigger a reunification vote have not been met. We cannot predict whether the UK's decision to leave the EU will change this. It seems unlikely - recent opinion polls suggest reunification would not be supported by the majority of people in Northern Ireland.

    Read the full Reality Check here.

  8. Could Scotland inherit the UK's EU membership?published at 15:54 British Summer Time 24 June 2016

    Reality Check

    Alex Salmond saying: "Scotland would have the option of remaining within Europe while the rest of the UK left."

    The claim: An independent Scotland could remain a member of the European Union while the rest of the UK left, in effect taking over Britain's membership of the EU rather than having to start a fresh application to join as a new country.

    Reality Check verdict: The situation is unclear. If Scotland were to hold a second referendum, and become independent, it could apply to become a member of the EU in the usual way. And it is now more plausible that EU member states would try to speed up the process for Scotland than it would have been at the time of the 2014 independence referendum. But we cannot say if it would be able to continue as a member without going through some sort of application process.

    Read the full Reality Check here.

  9. Do I need a new passport?published at 15:04 British Summer Time 24 June 2016

    Reality Check

    Nigel Farage holding a passportImage source, Getty Images

    The Reality Check team answers your questions about passports, EHIC, visas and whether EU nationals will be allowed to stay in the UK.

    The short answer is that almost nothing will change until the negotiations to leave the European Union have been completed.

    Read the full Reality Check here.

  10. Best claims of the campaignpublished at 20:00 British Summer Time 22 June 2016

    Reality Check

    As we near the end of the last full day of campaigning in the EU referendum, Theo Leggett looks back at some of the most memorable claims the team's had to tackle. 

    Media caption,

    Our correspondent Theo Leggett looks back at some of the top claims of the #EUref campaign

  11. What would Brexit mean for medicines?published at 17:06 British Summer Time 22 June 2016

    Hugh Pym
    BBC News Health Editor

    A laboratoryImage source, Getty Images

    BBC News Health Editor Hugh Pym asks what Britain leaving the European Union would mean for medicines and clinical trials.

    Would the the European Medicines Agency leave its London base? Would the UK be better off without the Clinical Trials Directive?

    You can read the full Reality Check here.

  12. What has the EU meant for disability rights?published at 17:01 British Summer Time 22 June 2016

    Reality Check

    Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson saying: "Leaving the EU would prevent British people with disabilities from benefiting from upcoming legislation on disability."

    The claim: Former Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson says that "leaving the EU would prevent British people with disabilities from benefiting from upcoming legislation on accessibility".

    Reality Check verdict: If Britain left the EU, it wouldn't benefit from future EU legislation. The EU has been influential in the development of disability rights legislation, but leaving would not necessarily mean those rights would be lost.

    Read the full Reality Check here.

  13. Good nightpublished at 23:03 British Summer Time 21 June 2016

    Participants in the Great Debate

    That's all from our fact-checking of the Great Debate.

    Hope you've enjoyed it!

  14. 13% of our laws from Europe?published at 22:57 British Summer Time 21 June 2016

    Reality Check

    Ruth Davidson talking about rules and regulations coming from the EU

    Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson got in an argument with Andrea Leadsom about how many of our rules come from Europe. 

    "[She] said 60% of our laws are made in Europe, and it's simply not true - 13% of our laws, according to the independent House of Commons Library, that number is 13%."

    The 13% figure refers to laws, rather than rules and regulations, which was what Andrea Leadsom referred to.

    But you could make a decent argument for any figure between about 13% and 60%.

    Read the full Reality Check here.

  15. Do three million jobs depend on the EU?published at 22:38 British Summer Time 21 June 2016

    Reality Check

    Frances O'Grady making the three million jobs claim

    TUC leader Frances O’Grady says: “You have a fantastic market that gives you real bargaining power in the global economy – of 500 million people, on which 3 million jobs depend…”

    The claim that three million jobs depend on the EU has been around for years, but its methodology is questionable. 

    It is based on working out what proportion of the country's total economic output was made up of exports to the EU and then calculating that proportion of the UK labour force.

    It is clear not all of these jobs are dependent on the UK remaining part of the EU - nobody is suggesting all exports to other EU countries would immediately stop if the UK left.  

    Read the full Reality Check here.

  16. Did a million die in the Balkans?published at 22:24 British Summer Time 21 June 2016

    Reality Check

    Boris Johnson talking about the Balkans

    Former Mayor of London Boris Johnson says: “I remember vividly when the EU was given the task of trying to sort out what was happening in the Balkans… it was a disaster. About a million people died.”

    The wars between the countries of the former Yugoslavia were indeed very bloody, but the total number of those how lost their lives was nowhere near a million.   

    In the Bosnian war (1992-95) an estimated 100,000 people were killed., external

    There was also a war in Croatia (1991-95) which claimed an estimated 20,000 lives, while the wars in Slovenia (1991), Kosovo (1999) and Macedonia (2001) added several thousand between them, but not enough to take the toll anywhere near one million.

  17. How would Brexit affect the Irish border?published at 22:14 British Summer Time 21 June 2016

    Reality Check

    Frances O'Grady talking about the Irish border

    TUC leader Frances O'Grady quotes the Irish Prime Minister saying that if we come out of the EU there will have to be border controls.

    What happens to the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland would be down to negotiations following a vote to leave the EU.

    The UK and Ireland entered into a Common Travel Area, external (CTA) agreement in 1923, long before the European Community was formed.

    It is an informal travel arrangement that means that no passport controls are in operation for Irish and UK citizens travelling between the two countries. 

    Read the full Reality Check here.

  18. Does the EU want complete political union?published at 21:56 British Summer Time 21 June 2016

    Reality Check

    Andrea Leadsom saying they want to see complete political union

    Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom has been talking about the Five Presidents Report, which she says shows that "by 2025 they want to see complete fiscal and political union of all 28 EU member states".

    This is wrong for two reasons: first, the report only makes proposals for the eurozone countries, not for the 28 member states, and second, the presidents do not propose a complete fiscal and political union. 

    They certainly do not envisage one government with one treasury as this claim would lead you to believe. The report does have a paragraph entitled “A euro area treasury”, which says that decisions for the eurozone will increasingly have to be made collectively, but it also says that “euro area member states would continue to decide on taxation and the allocation of budgetary expenditures according to national preferences and political choices”.  

  19. Is Britain safer in or out of the EU?published at 21:50 British Summer Time 21 June 2016

    Reality Check

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  20. Bingo? So close we'll let you have itpublished at 21:50 British Summer Time 21 June 2016

    Reality Check

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