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we’re going viral, sister
If you’re an older Gen Zer like myself (I’m a borderline millennial, I’ll be honest), you may remember the absolute shock of the Brexit vote way back in 2016.
We live in an era of constant political upset these days, what with Keir Starmer being booted from office this week, Donald Trump continuing to baffle overseas, and ex-Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau constantly making tabloid headlines for his cutesy romance with Katy Perry. Before all that, though, there was a period of relative stability in the UK, where most assumed that things would kind of…just…plod along like usual.
For younger Gen Zers and Gen Alpha, a constant circus wheel of chaos has become standard political practice; social media has upended how parties connect with voters, and misinformation is rife. Brexit – and, by extension, the rise of MAGA – was perhaps the first very real, very obvious example of online echochambers and dishonest campaign tactics disrupting the wheels of democracy.
Now, a decade on, Gen Z seemingly want to reverse Brexit and demand a fresh vote, at least according to a poll exclusively commissioned by The Guardian this week. Thinktank More in Common conducted the research, stating that 60% of 18- to 28-year-olds would rejoin the EU if given the opportunity, compared to only 9% that would vote to stay out. Of those who would actually cast a ballot in a second referendum, 81% would be pro-EU. Those are some serious numbers, folks.
There seems to be a widespread consensus among young people that Brexit has fundamentally failed to deliver on the promises it parroted in 2016. It’s important to note that most Gen Zers were too young to actually have a say during the referendum, despite being disproportionately affected by the outcome. Pollster Peter Kellner argues too that the original pro-Brexit majority is largely non-existent today, given that more than 6 million British people have died in the ten years since. We may be living in an anti-Brexit majority while still peddling a decision that hasn’t worked for…well, anyone.
Whichever side of the political fence you fall, it’s hard to argue that Gen Z hasn’t been sidelined for the sake of older voters.
They’re continually ignored and dismissed, with student loans still spiralling, community spaces vanishing, and now they can’t even visit YouTube without downloading a VPN. Parents might point to low voting turnouts among young people, but what do they expect when they’re never given any reason to bother? Even after a decade, they won’t be granted a second vote on the EU, despite the evidence that things aren’t working. In many ways, Brexit’s legacy is one of bitterness and nostalgic delusion from a bygone generation – at least for anyone under the age of thirty.
