Over 80% of 16 to 24-year-olds would vote to rejoin the EU

Age Polarisation on Brexit and Rejoin

• Commenters largely agree the original Brexit vote was heavily age-skewed: older voters backed Leave, younger voters overwhelmingly backed Remain.
• Several argue that by the time Brexit was implemented, demographic change alone might have flipped the result.
• One data point cited: 65+ is now the only age group where a majority still think Brexit was a good choice; other cohorts reportedly lean toward rejoining.

Youth Turnout, “Voting Well”, and Ideology Over Time

• Younger people are described as the least likely to vote but, when they do, as more inclined toward parties backing social welfare, climate action, and EU integration.
• Others push back, saying youth are not inherently “better” voters; historical examples of radical youth movements are used to question this.
• There’s debate over whether people “naturally” become more conservative with age; several midlife commenters say they’ve in fact become more progressive, especially after meeting marginalized people and failing to accumulate assets like older cohorts did.

Loss of Freedom of Movement and Individual Exit Strategies

• Multiple young commenters express anger at losing EU freedom of movement and describe feeling trapped in a declining UK while paying for older generations’ pensions.
• Practical “escape” routes are discussed: Irish citizenship via residency, Canadian ancestry rules, work visas for EU/Australia/NZ/Canada. Some note trade-offs (multi‑year commitments, precarious residency, Canada’s own housing crisis).

EU, Sovereignty, and the Nature of the Union

• One long contribution argues the EU has become an unfair, German-dominated monetary union harming France/Italy, with democratic deficits (ignored referendums, Greek crisis, euro design). This view is heavily downvoted but not substantially refuted in-thread.
• Others strongly defend the EU as a bulwark against nationalist autocrats (e.g. Hungary) and as essential for deterring Russia. Disagreement centres on whether centralisation is protection or “authoritarian overreach”.

UK Living Standards and Professional Life

• Several see the UK as a “trap” for professionals: poor housing quality, high costs, strained public services, and weak pay (especially for engineers), with exceptions in elite London finance.
• Some note good quality of life is still possible in rural/semi‑rural Britain if one can secure remote work and avoid big-city housing costs.

Immigration, Welfare, and Political Scapegoats

• Many frame Brexit and similar votes as primarily about anti‑immigration sentiment, even when formally about the EU.
• One camp argues large-scale, especially non‑EU, immigration is a net fiscal and social negative, citing selective statistics (e.g. Denmark/Netherlands) and claiming welfare incentives and housing for asylum seekers drive public anger.
• Opponents counter that:
  • Asylum seekers are often legally barred from working or renting, forcing state support.
  • Immigrants are net contributors in some studies and fill low‑wage jobs natives avoid.
  • Focusing on migrants obscures structural issues: low wages, housing shortages, underfunded services.
• There are frequent accusations that anti‑immigration rhetoric is racially motivated, and counter‑claims that “racist” is being overused to silence policy debate.

Blame, Scapegoating, and Democratic Disillusion

• Commenters note that UK politicians long used the EU as a scapegoat; post‑Brexit, domestic incompetence is more exposed.
• Some see quiet rollbacks of Brexit rules via trade deals, but argue rejoining would be hard since prior UK opt‑outs are unlikely to be restored.
• Several express cynicism about democracy: late postal ballots, low youth turnout, and the persistence of policies widely seen as harmful (on Brexit, housing, immigration).
• There is also meta‑debate over democracy itself: whether “uneducated masses” voting against their own interests is a fatal flaw, versus the view that dismissing them guarantees further backlash and rise of the far right.

Historical Decline and Identity

• A side thread compares today’s UK to its imperial “golden age.” Some are struck by how far global power has fallen in a single lifetime; others argue ordinary people are materially better off now and imperial dominance isn’t a meaningful benchmark.