Young people want to see the benefits of Brexit now, not tomorrow or in generations to come.
Yesterday in her Brexit speech, announcing Britain’s exit from the EU single market, Theresa May told us to think of future generations and to work hard for their wellbeing.
With May’s own generation having built on the success of the European Union and the single mark, what about the present generation of young people and their future?
MLMS, a youth-led political movement, recently set up a pole on Twitter asking what young people thought of Theresa May’s Brexit plans, investigating whether young people agreed or disagreed with May’s decision to leave the single market.
The pole, in which just under four thousand people voted, yielded a predictable yet surprising result. The majority of the votes were a no but the victory margin was only 12 per cent — surprising, as you would expect this margin to be bigger. Whilst the majority of young people voted Remain in the referendum there is clearly a strong desire to crack on after the result, and this poll reflects that impatience.
The current generation may not benefit in the short term from Britain leaving the single market, but at the same time there’s no point in remaining idle; not just in terms of the workplace but also in terms of the political arena.
In light of this, Undivided, a youth organisation hoping to unite the young people of Britain after Brexit were keen to encourage this generation to get involved. In response to May’s speech they affirmed that: ‘those whose future will be most determined by the Brexit settlement must make sure their voices are heard during the negotiations. Only then will the government be able to fulfil its pledge to bring the country together’.
This message of unity and optimism is one that Undivided and other youth organisations are trying to instil amongst frustrated minds of this generation; a generation that needs to come together, work out a strategy and execute it to make the best of tough times ahead.
Only through self-assertion can the path of a nation be influenced, and only through the people’s political engagement can that path be changed.
DISCLAIMER: The articles on our website are not endorsed by, or the opinions of Shout Out UK (SOUK), but exclusively the views of the author.
Christopher Sharp
Award winning Dyspraxic Journalist who's been runover by a lorry (how many of those do you know? ;-) )
I am a recent graduate from King's College London where I studied War Studies and History
I am also the co-founder of LGBTQ+ charity Racing Pride
