For the Conservatives, the central message is clear — "Get Brexit Done." They have pledged that Britain will leave the EU on January 31. Labour wants to renegotiate a softer Brexit deal, which it would then put to the people in a second referendum with the option of remaining in the bloc. Should the Liberal Democrats win the election outright, that party says it would cancel Brexit altogether.

The National Health Service was established in 1948 as a free-at-the-point-of-service health care system available to all Britons. Labour is pledging to increase spending on the service by 4.3% and Jeremy Corbyn has accused Boris Johnson of putting the service system "up for sale" in any trade deal with the US. The Conservatives strongly deny this and promise to invest more in the service.

The Liberal Democrats of Jo Swinson (pictured, left) were the only party deemed by Britain's Institute for Fiscal Studies to have a sensible economic manifesto. The party is promoting modest tax rises and spending increases. The Conservative Party wants to invest in public services, while also cutting taxes. Labour promises to "rewrite the rules of the economy so it works for everyone."

Crime and sentencing were always bubbling away at the back as an issue in this election, but the London Bridge attack at the end of November put them back up front. The perpetrator of the attack was released halfway through his sentence under a law introduced by the last Labour government. This was seized upon by Johnson, who has called for sentencing to be tougher.

Green Party leader Caroline Lucas is the party's only member of parliament. The party has the most ambitious target on emissions, seeking to achieve zero net carbon by 2030. The Conservatives have the least ambitious target of any major party — to become carbon neutral by 2050. The Lib Dems are aiming for 2045, while Labour is looking at the mid-2030s.

Although a 2014 referendum about whether Scotland should be independent was deemed a once-in-a-generation event, things have changed. The major argument against breaking up the union was that it would leave Scotland outside the European Union. Brexit changed all that. Most voters north of the border wanted to stay in the EU, and now feel they are being pulled out of the bloc against their will.

After a shrill referendum campaign, nearly 52% of British voters opted to leave the EU on June 23. Polls had shown a close race before the vote with a slight lead for those favoring remaining in the EU. Conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron, who had campaigned for Britain to stay, acknowledged the "will of the British people" and resigned the following morning.

Former Home Secretary Theresa May replaced David Cameron as prime minister on July 11 and promised the country that "Brexit means Brexit." May had quietly supported the Remain campaign before the referendum. She did not initially say when her government would trigger Article 50 of the EU treaty to start the two-year talks leading to Britain's formal exit.

May eventually signed a diplomatic letter over six months later on March 29, 2017 to trigger Article 50. Hours later, Britain's ambassador to the EU, Tim Barrow, handed the note to European Council President Donald Tusk. Britain's exit was officially set for March 29, 2019. Tusk ended his brief statement on the decision with: "We already miss you. Thank you and goodbye."

British Brexit Secretary David Davis and the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, kicked off talks in Brussels on June 19. The first round ended with Britain reluctantly agreeing to follow the EU's timeline for the rest of the negotiations. The timeline split talks into two phases. The first would settle the terms of Britain's exit, and the second the terms of the EU-UK relationship post-Brexit.

The second round of talks in mid-July began with an unflattering photo of a seemingly unprepared British team. It and subsequent rounds ended with little progress on three phase one issues: How much Britain still needed to pay into the EU budget after it leaves, the post-Brexit rights of EU and British citizens and whether Britain could keep an open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Leaders of the remaining 27 EU members formally agreed that "sufficient progress" had been made to move on to phase two issues: the post-Brexit transition period and the future UK-EU trading relationship. While Prime Minister Theresa May expressed her delight at the decision, European Council President Tusk ominously warned that the second stage of talks would be "dramatically difficult."

British ministers appeared to back a Brexit plan at May's Chequers residence on July 6. The proposal would have kept Britain in a "combined customs territory" with the EU and signed up to a "common rulebook" on all goods. That went too far for British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis, who resigned a few days later. May replaced them with Jeremy Hunt and Dominic Raab.

May's Chequers proposal did not go down well with EU leaders, who told her at a summit in Salzburg in late September that it was unacceptable. EU Council President Tusk trolled May on Instagram, captioning a picture of himself and May looking at cakes with the line: "A piece of cake perhaps? Sorry, no cherries." The gag echoed previous EU accusations of British cherry-picking.

EU leaders endorsed a 585-page draft divorce deal and political declaration on post-Brexit ties in late November. The draft had been widely condemned by pro- and anti-Brexit lawmakers in the British Parliament only weeks earlier. Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab resigned along with several other ministers, and dozens of Conservative Party members tried to trigger a no-confidence vote in May.

In the face of unrelenting opposition, May postponed a parliamentary vote on the deal on December 10. The next day, she met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to seek reassurances that would, she hoped, be enough to convince skeptical lawmakers to back the deal. But while she was away, hard-line Conservative lawmakers triggered a no-confidence vote. May won the vote a day later.

The UK Parliament voted 432 to 202 against May's Brexit deal on January 16. In response to the result, European Council President Donald Tusk suggested the only solution was for the UK to stay in the EU. Meanwhile, Britain's Labour Party called for a no-confidence vote in the prime minister, her second leadership challenge in as many months.

May tried to get legal changes to the deal's so-called Irish backstop in the weeks that followed. She eventually got assurances that the UK could suspend the backstop under certain circumstances. But on March 12, Parliament voted against the revised Brexit deal by 391 to 242. EU leaders warned the vote increased the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit. Two days later, MPs voted to delay Brexit.

Following the second defeat of May's divorce deal, the European Council met in Brussels on March 21 to decide what to do next. EU leaders gave May two options: delay Brexit until May 22 if MPs vote for the withdrawal deal or delay it until April 12 if they vote against the deal. If the deal were to fail again in Parliament, May could ask for a long extension.

On March 29, the day that the UK was supposed to leave the EU, British lawmakers voted for a third time against May's deal — rejecting it this time with a vote of 344 to 286. Following the latest defeat, May approached the main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in an attempt to find a compromise, angering hardline Brexiteers in her own Conservative party.

With the April 12 deadline looming after the third defeat of May's deal, EU leaders met again in Brussels to discuss a second delay. The only question was how long should it be? In the end, the UK and EU agreed to a "flexible" extension until October 31 — which can end sooner if the Brexit deal is approved. The UK had to take part in EU elections in May because their exit wasn't secured in time.

Weeks of talks between Prime Minister Theresa May and the Labour party to reach a deal proved unsuccessful and further eroded her political capital. She triggered an angry backlash from her party after she tried to put the option of a second referendum on the table. The series of failures led May to announce her resignation, effective June 7, in an emotional address.

After Theresa May announced on June 7 that she would leave office, other members of her Conservative party began clamoring for the top job. Within a month, the leadership battle came down to Jeremy Hunt (left), an EU proponent who fears a no-deal scenario, and Boris Johnson (right), one of the main proponents of Brexit.

At the end of July 2019, Johnson was officially named Theresa May's successor as British prime minister. "We are going to energize the country, we are going to get Brexit done by October 31," he said after he was elected leader of the Conservative Party.

Conservative rebels and opposition MPs backed efforts to delay an October 31 Brexit deadline in fear of a no-deal departure. In response, Johnson called for a general election, saying his government cannot rule without a mandate after he stripped 21 rebel MPs of their Conservative status. The Labour Party said it would not back elections until legislation to block a no-deal Brexit was in place.

In late September, Britain's highest court ruled that Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament ahead of the UK's planned exit was unlawful. "This was not a normal prorogation in the run-up to a Queen's Speech," said the Supreme Court. Political rivals immediately called on Johnson to leave his post. Johnson said he would abide by the court ruling, though said he "strongly" disagreed.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson managed to secure a deal with European negotiators that would allow the UK to leave the EU in an orderly manner. The deal received unanimous backing from the leaders of 27 other member states. But an attempt to get the UK Parliament to sign off on the deal failed. Instead, Parliament pushed for the Brexit deadline to be extended until the end of January 2020.

On December 22, UK lawmakers vote for Prime Minister Johnson's European Union withdrawal bill, which will see a leave date of January 31 2020 enshrined in law. Getting a majority to vote to pass the bill in the lower house has proven a major sticking point for the PM, but following a general election Johnson's Conservative party won control of the house and the bill passed with a 124 majority.

After months of disagreements over fishing rights and future business rules, the EU and UK clinched a post-Brexit trade deal on Christmas Eve. Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the deal, saying the UK has "taken back control of our laws and our destiny." The deal will allow the UK and the EU to trade without tariffs, but also impose limitations on free movement and financial services.

Snapshot of a small British city: Wigan, west of Manchester. In the Brexit referendum, nearly 64 percent of its residents voted in favor of leaving the EU. Sebastian Wells took his camera there. His work and that of the other graduates of Berlin's Ostkreuz School of Photography comprise an exhibition that affords a view of Great Britain before the looming Brexit.

Great Britain has always claimed a special role for itself in the EU. Be it out of nostalgia for the lost empire or in the form of in a crude hooligan tattoo, the desire for self-expression is strong, as this photo by Uli Kaufmann shows. Many of his photo series deal with British identity.

These photos by Linus Muellerschoen sketch a grim image of the island country's future. "Brexit stands for bringing new things to a halt," says the 30-year-old photographer. "My pictures pursue the thought: What happens when we turn our backs on color and openness?"

This is the first time that a member state has left the European Union, and it's not clear what this step will or would mean for the land and its people. Bastian Thiery has devoted attention to the situation of young people in Great Britain. "I looked for symbols of something that wants to grow but is not permitted to," says the 29-year-old photographer.

The situation of Great Britain's youth is also an issue pursued by Anna Szkoda. Brexit was decided over their heads: no one under 18 at the time of the referendum was allowed to vote. Yet they have to live with the results. "In my work, I give a face to those who were invisible during the vote," says Szkoda.

Great Britain has also benefited from EU subsidies, as photos by Lars Bösch reveal. He took pictures of structures supported or co-financed by Europe, such as the Royal Eye Hospital in Manchester, shown here.

The National Graphene Institute at the University of Manchester probably wouldn't exist without assistance from Europe: 23 million pounds ($30.1 million) flowed into the edifice out of European structural funding.

Miguel Brusch portrayed the British coastal city of Blackpool. Once a cosmopolitan vacation resort, its image is now marked by mass unemployment. "A collection ranging from the carefree life to illusion, to decay" is how the photographer titles his picture series, a description that could apply to British society as a whole.

British institutes of higher learning are also concerned about the effects of Brexit. Exchange and research agreements with EU countries could become more complex. Some students approve of the exit from the EU however. The photographer Annemie Martin reflects the mood at colleges and universities in her work.

The creator of the world-famous Gruffalo monster, illustrator Axel Scheffler, conceived this drawing of a European heraldic animal: the EU owl. Born in Hamburg, the artist has lived in London for almost 30 years. Since the Brexit referendum, however, the United Kingdom "no longer feels like a home," he said. Scheffler initiated the book "Drawing Europe Together."

Judith Kerr sends her famous figures Tiger and tomcat Mog on a journey to Europe, both of them cheerfully waving their EU flag. The author of children's and youth books, who was born in 1923 and comes from a German-Jewish emigrant family, is one of the most prominent illustrators that initiator Axel Scheffler was able to win over for his book project.

British illustrator Polly Dunbar drew her Europe as a beautiful woman with long flowing hair and a full nursery of happy children. A little boy with a British flag on his shirt is on his own, standing to the side, and the other children can't understand why he no longer wants to play with them.

The European bus is about to leave, but it's still at a stop. The British musician who is lagging behind can still get on. "I really hope that it's not too late yet and that people will come to their senses," commented Bruce Ingman from Liverpool. "I love being a part of Europe and so do my children."

The British mouse is sitting alone under a glass bell with an overflowing European cheese plate out of reach. This is the way Englishwoman Emily Gravett chose to draw the situation of Great Britain before leaving the EU. "What makes me sad," the illustrator noted, "is that Brexit not only divides nations, but also neighbors and families."

Europe's nations slip into the role of gymnasts and perform a circus-like balancing act on the European bull. The Dutch artist, who comes from a migrant family, said that "everyone working together is merely a dream." Nevertheless, The Tjong-Khing is optimistic that it's the only way.