Lara Prendergast Lara Prendergast

Brexit was a harsh political awakening for young people

Since Brexit became a reality early on Friday morning, my Facebook feed has been filled with mournful posts written by friends who voted Remain. Those who voted Leave seem to be staying quiet. This is understandable. Most of my friends are in their twenties. They tend to be educated and globalist in their outlook. They have enjoyed the freedom of movement that the EU offered them, and feel they have benefitted overall from Britain being a member. It is painful to see the comity of the EU suddenly stripped away, and I sympathise on many counts.

The vote for Brexit will no doubt be a defining political moment for my age group. I sense that more people now feel politically engaged than ever before. Based on what I’ve seen on my Facebook feed during the past 24 hours, here are some observations about some of the main ideas being discussed.

Democracy

The first is that respect for democracy – and the act of giving people the opportunity to vote and have their say – seems to be fluid. On

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