Police and citizens of Boston, Lincolnshire face off in the town centre over the Government's reluctance to trigger Article 50 and commence the formal process of the UK leaving the European Union. The town recorded the country's highest vote for Brexit in 2016 with over 76% expressing the wish to leave the union.
The invocation of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union marked the formal beginning of the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, a process commonly known as Brexit. On March 29, 2017, then Prime Minister Theresa May triggered the article by sending a letter to Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, notifying the EU of the UK's intention to withdraw. This action followed the 2016 referendum, where 51.9% of UK voters opted to leave the EU, driven by concerns over sovereignty, economic control, and immigration.

Towns like Boston experienced huge social and economic changes as a result of the A8 enlargement legislation. Much of this change was negative, creating parallel communities and tension between the indigenous and migrant populations. In 2015 Boston was declared the murder capital of England based on Home Office figures. The majority of these murders were perpetrated by the migrant community on the migrant community.

Article 50, introduced under the Lisbon Treaty, provided a mechanism for a member state to leave the EU voluntarily. Once invoked, it sets a two-year negotiation period, unless extended by mutual agreement for the departing state and the EU to agree on withdrawal terms and outline their future relationship. For the UK, this meant a deadline of March 29, 2019, to finalize the process, though delays and complexities later extended this timeline.

Theresa May’s decision to invoke Article 50 came after months of legal and political wrangling, including a Supreme Court ruling that required parliamentary approval. The notification letter outlined the UK’s intent to pursue an "orderly withdrawal" and establish a "deep and special partnership" with the EU post-Brexit. However, the process quickly became contentious. Negotiations proved challenging, with key issues like the Irish border, citizens' rights, and the financial settlement fueling uncertainty.

Theresa May’s decision to invoke Article 50 came after months of legal and political wrangling, including a Supreme Court ruling that required parliamentary approval. The notification letter outlined the UK’s intent to pursue an "orderly withdrawal" and establish a "deep and special partnership" with the EU post-Brexit. However, the process quickly became contentious. Negotiations proved challenging, with key issues like the Irish border, citizens' rights, and the financial settlement fueling uncertainty. .

The two-year period saw intense political turbulence in the UK. May’s draft withdrawal agreement, finalized in November 2018, faced backlash for being too soft on EU ties, leading to her resignation in July 2019. Her successor, Boris Johnson, renegotiated the deal, and after further extensions beyond the original deadline, the UK officially left the EU on January 31, 2020, entering a transition period until December 31, 2020. The invocation of Article 50, while a procedural step, became a lightning rod for broader debates about democracy, identity, and governance in Britain.