I support this amendment in the name of the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, to which I have added my name. I thank the noble Earl for tabling such an important amendment and introducing it in such a clear and precise manner.
History is littered with battles to achieve basic rights, and each hard-earned right is seen as an advancement—a sign of progress and enlightenment—as we move forward as civilised nations. Attempts to rescind our rights would and should be met with outrage, and no self-respecting Government would normally attempt such a backward step. So it is in the case of EU citizenship. UK citizens have had, since 1993, the same rights, freedoms and legal protections as every citizen of the EU and, although these are rights that have been bestowed upon us, they are rights that very many of us have embraced and valued. It seems unthinkable that the Government, egged on by the 37% of our population who voted to leave, are happy to see those rights removed.
It is those of us who remain living in the UK who will lose the most. We will lose all the rights that we have held as EU citizens, and it is young people who will feel that loss more than any other group. For those under 25, their EU citizenship is a birthright: they have known nothing else. Many young people in Wales consider themselves to be Welsh, British and European and wear those three identities comfortably, as do their English, Scottish and Irish counterparts. They have embraced the rights to live, work and love in the EU. They have grabbed the opportunity to obtain an international education and have studied at universities throughout the EU, advancing their language skills to enable them to work in an international sphere, and they have travelled freely throughout the Union. These young people voted far more strongly against Brexit than their older counterparts and they are the people who will have to live with the consequences of the votes of the older generation.
It is thought that 74% of under-25s voted to remain, but when will the Government acknowledge how strongly they feel? When will they listen to the voices of the young?
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Of course, young people could, like me, examine ways of retaining their EU citizenship. How much easier it all would have been if my great-grandparents had stayed in Donaghadee a little while longer, until my grandfather had been born there, paving the way for me to apply for Irish citizenship. Like me, young people might rule out other possible qualifying conditions: a marriage to an EU citizen from another member state, setting up a business under Estonia’s e-residency programme, or paying out £2 million to Cyprus to become a Cypriot citizen—and therefore an EU citizen—without actually having to live there. A period of study in another EU country might do the trick, but that becomes more difficult without Erasmus. The EU has suggested the introduction of associate membership, perhaps at a cost, for those who want it. What is the Government’s response to that?
It is heartwarming to see, however, that young people are now taking their future into their own hands, and I am pleased to see the establishment of a group called Our Future, Our Choice, which describes itself as,
“a group of angry, determined young people who think Brexit is a disaster and should be stopped”.
This group speaks to and for those under 45.