Since 2005, when Margaret Thatcher picked The Heritage Foundation to establish the Thatcher Center for Freedom, Heritage experts have advocated for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. This week, the people of the U.K. voted to do just that. 

“This is a victory for sovereignty, economic freedom, and self-determination,” says Nile Gardiner, director of the Thatcher Center for Freedom. “A sovereign Britain will be a stronger partner for the United States and a more powerful force on the world stage. Brexit is good for Britain, Europe, and America. It is a cause for great celebration.”

Gardiner leads a team of experts who identify ways to strengthen the Anglo-American Special Relationship as well as promote leadership by the United States and Great Britain. Committed to advancing the vision of Lady Thatcher, the Thatcher Center for Freedom has published several reports on the dangers of the European Union.

In a 2009 Telegraph column, Gardiner wrote that “The single greatest threat to the Special Relationship today is posed by the loss of British independence within the European Union.” 

When David Cameron became prime minister, Gardiner published “Four Key Principles for a Conservative British Foreign Policy.” One of these principles was standing up to the rise of a European superstate.

And in 2011, Heritage outlined a conservative agenda for preserving the Special Relationship ahead of President Barack Obama’s trip to the U.K. Ted R. Bromund, senior research fellow in Anglo-American relations, wrote that “The EU’s goal is not simply to erode the sovereignty of its member states, but to deprive them of the ability and desire to play an independent and assertive role in the world.”

“I am proud that The Heritage Foundation has worked to convince Americans and the British people about the necessity and mutual benefits of Brexit,” says Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint. “The Thatcher Center, led by Nile Gardiner, has been the tip of the spear in our efforts, and his team deserves our congratulations.”

Coverage by The Daily Signal, Heritage’s multimedia news organization, helped Heritage experts spread their message on Brexit. Heritage experts were featured on television news networks across the world, including appearances live from London, where Gardiner and Bromund have been for the past week. Gardiner joined Fox Business to make the case why the results of Brexit are good not only for the U.K. but also the U.S. and the world.