As October 31 looms closer, it’s clear that any form of Brexit has the potential to be damaging for women and young people. Brexit will be just as likely to damage ethnic minorities, members of the LGBTQ+ community and those with disabilities, however, as I don’t belong to any of these communities, I feel I’m not best qualified to write about them. Today I want to set out why any form of Brexit will have a negative impact on our society but with a particular focus on women and young people. I want to offer a solution to this mess. 

First and foremost, it’s important to note that analysis of the 2016 referendum reveals that the majority of women  and young people aged 18-24 voted to stay in the EU - 67% of women aged 18-34 and 55% of 35-44-year olds to be exact. It was the older, white, male voter who was more likely to vote leave. The British Election Study also shows that “older males with few educational qualifications were most likely to vote leave while economically independent women were more likely to vote remain.” We now face a loss of our rights; women and young people will be the most adversely affected. Currently EU law protects our rights through the EU Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Justice (ECJ). If the UK leaves the EU, these rights will be placed under threat. 

Guarantees of equal pay have been one of the biggest achievements for women’s rights, the Equal Pay Directive (1975) and Equal Treatment Directive (1976) has ensured that women across the EU are paid equally and do not face gender discrimination during interview processes and in the workplace. The guarantee of maternity-pay and the EU trafficking directive, which seeks to protect victims of human trafficking (the majority of whom are women), are also both upheld by the EU; the EU funds projects such as the Daphne Initiative which is fundamental in combatting violence against women in the UK. Leaving the EU will mean that these regulations and initiatives face revision which may have a detrimental impact on the rights of some of the most vulnerable women in our society. 

According to the Bank of England, households are already £900 worse off than what was expected pre-referendum. Now, three years on, it is becoming clearer that Brexit, with or without a deal, will not bring prosperity for the UK as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED) has warned that a no-deal Brexit will “push the UK into recession.” The government’s Yellowhammer document considers the impact of a no-deal Brexit, it reveals that in these circumstances, food and energy prices will significantly increase which will have a massive impact on women who are already much more likely to turn to food banks and be in food and fuel poverty, following the past decade of austerity. Yellowhammer also reveals that due to the forecasted rise of inflation after a no-deal Brexit, the costs of social care will increase and potentially lead to failing public services. Women will be most severely affected by this as “women are the majority of those needing care and the [vast] majority of those providing it (paid and unpaid).” This will further gender inequality across the UK as women will be forced to put in more unpaid caring hours. 

Overall a greater degree of uncertainty and less control of the country’s economic and political situation is having (and will continue to have) a damaging impact on women lives and livelihoods,  primarily in terms of the rights that they will lose and the financial downturn that will hit women hardest. 

 In terms of the impact on young people it is important to remember that no one born this century could vote in the last EU referendum. Those who perpetuated the lies of the Leave campaign such as Johnson, Farage, Gove and Rees-Mogg could enjoy the ability to freely work, study, travel and live in Europe, yet they seem happy to starve a younger generation of these opportunities. Following the 2008 recession, youth unemployment in the UK stood at 15%. Do we want to face this again? Since the referendum, at least 2 million more young people like me have reached voting age. We will be the generation most severely affected by Brexit and we deserve a say on our futures.  

The only way to escape the current mess is to have a second referendum on Brexit. Now that the consequences of Brexit are clear and the hugely negative impact that Brexit will have on women and young people is evident, we must have the opportunity to have our say. Parliament is at a deadlock and the Government is failing to further the Brexit process. We cannot accept this worsening of inequalities, loss of opportunities and the loss of rights that Brexit will bring. As a result, we cannot accept any form of Brexit.  This weekend I joined at least a million other people on the People’s Vote march in London. As an active campaigner for a People’s Vote with Our Future Our Choice, a youth-led campaign highlighting how damaging any form of Brexit will be and how crucial a second referendum is for young people, this was a momentous event. Now that the facts about the Brexit mess are clear we need a People’s vote with remain on the ballot.