Young people overwhelmingly voted for a practical, sensible option. The older generation showed themselves to be gullible and naive
A student does not need to be remotely engaged in politics to be scared right now. As we recklessly march towards Brexit, anxiety is building among even those who strive not to read the news. Because students like me are the people who will bear the brunt of a hard Brexit – and we didn’t even vote for it in the first place.
Of those who voted within the ages of 18-24, 75 per cent voted to remain in the EU. Statistically, older generations have voted against us and now we will be punished for their lack of solidarity. Our cause is simple; it is not an ideological one – we just want a good chance of getting a job after graduation. We were voting for the future, and the older generations who dragged us into Brexit were voting for a rose-tinted view of the past.
It is hard to ignore just how many companies are based in other European countries – and, consequently, how many jobs could be pulled out of Britain post-Brexit. The student population is often depicted as a group of stereotypical idealists, starry-eyed quasi-adults who believe that they can change society and rid it of its wrongs. But this time round, we’re the ones who have fallen victim to ideas that don’t make any sense – and won’t bear out well in reality.
Young people overwhelmingly voted for the practical option – we voted not to risk damaging our economy and to remain united with other European countries in case we are ever in need of their financial or military aid. Brexit showed the older generations to be much more naive. Even now, so many months later, I cannot begin to fathom why so many young people’s parents voted to reduce their children’s chances of finding a job and having a secure future.
What experts have said about Brexit
Yanis Varoufakis
Greece's former finance minister compared the UK relations with the EU bloc with a well-known song by the Eagles: “You can check out any time you like, as the Hotel California song says, but you can't really leave. The proof is Theresa May has not even dared to trigger Article 50. It's like Harrison Ford going into Indiana Jones' castle and the path behind him fragmenting. You can get in, but getting out is not at all clear” Getty ImagesMichael O’Leary
Ryanair boss says UK will be ‘screwed’ by EU in Brexit trade deals: “I have no faith in the politicians in London going on about how ‘the world will want to trade with us’. The world will want to screw you – that's what happens in trade talks,” he said. “They have no interest in giving the UK a deal on trade” GettyTim Martin
JD Wetherspoon's chairman has said claims that the UK would see serious economic consequences from a Brexit vote were "lurid" and wrong: “We were told it would be Armageddon from the OECD, from the IMF, David Cameron, the chancellor and President Obama who were predicting locusts in the fields and tidal waves in the North Sea" PAMark Carney
Governor of Bank of England is 'serene' about Bank of England's Brexit stance: “I am absolutely serene about the … judgments made both by the MPC and the FPC” ReutersChristine Lagarde
IMF chief urges quick Brexit to reduce economic uncertainty: “We want to see clarity sooner rather than later because we think that a lack of clarity feeds uncertainty, which itself undermines investment appetites and decision making” Getty ImagesInga Beale
Lloyd’s chief executive says Brexit is a major issue: "Clearly the UK's referendum on its EU membership is a major issue for us to deal with and we are now focusing our attention on having in place the plans that will ensure Lloyd's continues trading across Europe” EPAColm Kelleher
President of US bank Morgan Stanley says City of London ‘will suffer’ as result of the EU referendum: “I do believe, and I said prior to the referendum, that the City of London will suffer as result of Brexit. The issue is how much” Richard Branson
Virgin founder believes we've lost a THIRD of our value because of Brexit and cancelled a deal worth 3,000 jobs: We're not any worse than anybody else, but I suspect we've lost a third of our value which is dreadful for people in the workplace.' He continued: "We were about to do a very big deal, we cancelled that deal, that would have involved 3,000 jobs, and that’s happening all over the country" Getty ImagesBarack Obama
US President believes Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU: "It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote and continue to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the United Kingdom's participation in the EU. We are fully supportive of a process that is as little disruptive as possible so that people around the world can continue to benefit from economic growth" Getty ImagesKristin Forbes
American economist and an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England argues that the economy had been “less stormy than many expected” following the shock referendum result: “For now…the economy is experiencing some chop, but no tsunami. The adverse winds could quickly pick up – and merit a stronger policy response. But recently they have shifted to a more favourable direction” GettyChancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond
The Chancellor claims London can still be a world financial hub despite Brexit “One of Britain’s great strengths is the ability to offer and aggregate all of the services the global financial services industry needs” “This has not changed as a result of the EU referendum and I will do everything I can to ensure the City of London retains its position as the world’s leading international financial centre.” ReutersThe old statistic about taking billions from the EU and giving it to the NHS has long been exposed as a lie. It was also argued that, if we left the EU, fewer immigrants would come into the country and “take our jobs”. Now our jobs will be taken away from us anyway as a result of leaving the EU, and we’ve proven ourselves to be a nation of xenophobes in the process. It’s hard to feel proud to be British in that political context.
Theresa May is not the problem; the problem is to be found much closer to home. Our parents and grandparents are the ones who voted against us and our futures in a naive and gullible belief that breaking away from the concepts of solidarity and unity could actually be a good thing.
They thought that the EU, formed in a very different context following the Second World War, would no longer be necessary in our global climate, despite the fact that we are facing the biggest refugee crisis since that time. And they forgot that we are living in an age where terrorism poses a major threat – terrorism which is so often driven by isolation and the politics of fear.
So yes, as a student and a young person about to embark upon adulthood, I am scared about the impact of Brexit. And forgive me for my pessimism, but I really don’t believe that anything Theresa May has to say on Tuesday will make me feel any better about it.