This page is an independent historical archive of generationbrexit.org. It is not affiliated with the London School of Economics or the original project team.
A referendum decided by one generation, lived by another
After the June 2016 EU referendum, a recurring argument in British politics was generational: many young voters had backed Remain, yet it was they who would live longest with the consequences of leaving the European Union. The surge in youth turnout at the 2017 general election reinforced the sense that millennials had become a political constituency that politicians could no longer ignore.
What Generation Brexit was
Generation Brexit was a public engagement project based at the LSE European Institute. Its aim was to make young people's voices heard in the Brexit negotiations by crowdsourcing a millennial vision of the future relationship between the UK and the EU.
Unlike most Brexit engagement initiatives, it addressed young people in both the UK and continental Europe. Participants aged roughly 16 to 35 were invited to debate, decide and draft policy proposals, which were then to be sent to parliaments in Westminster and Brussels as negotiations progressed. The project was led by Dr Jennifer Jackson-Preece, with sociologist Dr Roch Dunin-Wąsowicz as research officer.
How the platform worked
The website functioned like a small social network. Members signed up, often with an existing social media account, and responded to a series of "Brexit Challenges": the big dilemmas of the withdrawal, such as the divorce bill, citizens' rights and the border questions. Posts could be read, commented on and voted up or down, and a leaderboard showed which contributions carried the most weight.
The platform was offered in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish and Greek, and was planned in two phases: first the terms of the "divorce" itself, then the shape of the long-term UK–EU relationship.
Timeline
- June 2016The UK votes to leave the European Union.
- March 2017Article 50 is triggered, starting the two-year negotiation period.
- June 2017General election with high youth turnout; Generation Brexit is introduced on the LSE Brexit blog.
- 2017–2018Crowdsourcing phases on the Brexit Challenges; multilingual platform opens to young Europeans.
- January 2020The UK formally leaves the EU; a transition period begins.
- December 2020End of transition and conclusion of the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
Keywords of the era
Brexit negotiations, Article 50, Leave and Remain, hard Brexit, soft Brexit, no deal, divorce bill, withdrawal agreement, Irish backstop, customs union, single market, freedom of movement, EU citizens' rights, Erasmus, youth vote, millennials, intergenerational fairness, crowdsourcing democracy, LSE European Institute.
Legacy
Generation Brexit was one of several academic attempts to give a voice to people affected by Brexit but underrepresented in the process. Its themes, regulatory divergence between the UK and the EU, cross-border trade, and what changes for individuals when two rulebooks separate, remain concrete for anyone doing business or buying services across the Channel.
Frequently asked questions
- Who ran Generation Brexit?
- The LSE European Institute at the London School of Economics.
- Who could take part?
- Young people, roughly aged 16 to 35, from the UK and across Europe, from both the Leave and Remain sides.
- Is this the original project website?
- No. This is an independent archive documenting its history.