In the simplest terms Brexit is the United Kingdom’s leave of the European Union based on a closed referendum vote by the people of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland. What this means following the referendum vote in 2016 the United Kingdom began the tedious process of leaving the European Union. To add on to the already difficult process the United Kingdom government is dived on what it wants to do, in other words the government does not always know what it’s best to do for the people.

The Irish border plays a large role in the Brexit negotiations. Brexit could create a strange reality where the Republic of Ireland is part of the European Union and Northern Ireland is not. Meaning the border between Ireland and North Ireland would change into a border of the European Union that is visible (Peter Foster, 2019). While on the surface this change in the border seems small, in actuality this change goes against the peace agreement put forth by the Good Friday Agreement which renders the border invisible. This is the reality of Brexit that crossing to the other side of your own nation could possibly mean standing in a foreign country.

While a hard Irish border is of great concern but in the middle of it all are the people. The referendum vote brought to light the preexisting political division within the United Kingdom and only made worse than they had already been. The referendum votes divided friends, neighbors, even families “We just try not to talk about it because it still feels quite sore” says Jo (Cosslett, 2016). Regardless of which side you’re on, the whole process of Brexit ignited a civil political war which left both sides frustrated and hurt.

The vote hurt everyone, the youth are no exception. If, Brexit goes through young adults in particular that are now entering the workforce are the group of people that are going to bear the brunt the hardest. They are set to expect a drop in average income which was already lower than it has been 2007-8 and increase in unemployment, 520-820 thousand people are expected to be jobless following Brexit (Odendahl & Springford, 2016). The youth is right to feel discarded and pushed aside by the majority that chose to throw away their future opportunities.

It goes without saying that Brexit is no easy task to understand. It is a difficult process that the Untied Kingdom embarked on that could bring on disastrous changes for all people living under Her Majesty’s Kingdom. Whether it be living close to the Irish border, or somewhere in the middle trying to hold down a job in this Brexit environment these are real changes that seriously could affect people’s lives. Brexit should have never happened. As I mentioned before, the government does not always know what it’s best to do for the people.

Bibliography

Cosslett, R. (2016). Families divided by Brexit: ‘Part of me just wants to avoid my dad completely now’. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/dec/21/families-divided-brexit-rifts-arguments-avoid-dad
Kettle, M. (2019). May’s exit won’t halt Britain’s slow drift into a kind of Brexit civil war | Martin Kettle. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/27/theresa-may-brexit-civil-war-crisis-parliament
Peter Foster. (2019). Brexit and the Irish border explained: why the headache is not going away any time soon. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/0/brexit-irish-border-explained-headache-not-going-away-time-soon/
Odendahl, C., & Springford, J. (2016). Why young people are right to fear Brexit. Retrieved from https://www.cer.eu/insights/why-young-people-are-right-fear-brexit