Dominic Buxton didn’t much care for politics when he was at school but in June 2016 he stayed up to watch the results of the Brexit referendum. Born in London in 1999, he migrated to Germany when he was three and moved back to London in 2015. When it was clear the UK had voted to leave the European Union, Buxton, now 19, was shocked. “I never thought of myself as anything other than European,” he said. “It was like a large chunk of my identity was being stripped away from me.”
With Brexit less than three months away and the debate showing no sign of abating, the futures of young people like Buxton have become central to the discussions – even if they aren’t always consulted about it. In his local constituency of Poplar and Limehouse, he is one of many who feel their voices are not being heard.
The east London borough – which includes a booming financial sector, a large student population from the nearby university, and just over half of its residents from a minority ethnic background – voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU. But the local Labour MP, Jim Fitzpatrick, who campaigned against Brexit, has said he will respect the result of the referendum. It’s a decision that has angered and dismayed some of his younger constituents.
“Poplar and Limehouse voted to remain in the EU. As an MP, Jim Fitzpatrick’s immediate concern should be listening to the wishes of his constituents,” said Buxton, adding that his area had far too much to lose from leaving the trading bloc. He joined the Liberal Democrats soon after the referendum and describes them as “the only party fighting for an exit from Brexit”.
The European Medicines Agency and European Banking, both currently based in Canary Wharf at the heart of the constituency, are relocating to other European cities. A recent study by Sussex University on the economic impact of Brexit noted that Poplar and Limehouse would be the third most affected constituency in terms of potential job losses caused by a no-deal Brexit. It is estimated the area could lose 7,950 jobs.
“It provides me with a challenge and a contradiction and some great difficulty. But as I said to all my constituents, either leave or remain, it wasn’t a Poplar or Limehouse referendum, but it was a national referendum and the national vote is we’re leaving the EU,” said Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick said he was inclined to vote against Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement and cited Labour’s current policy on Brexit: vote down May’s deal, push for a general election, and try to renegotiate a new deal. Other options – including a second referendum – remain firmly on the table.
Fitzpatrick said he was listening carefully to the concerns of his constituents, adding: “I have to square the circle between the national decision to leave, the national interest, party politics, constituency interests and my own conscience.”
Fitzpatrick is also under pressure from young Labour voters to keep the country in the EU.
“I would say with every Labour MP who wants to push ahead with Brexit, the country did not vote for a Tory Brexit. Just because Theresa May’s deal is the one on the table, doesn’t mean it is the one we should vote for,” said Megan Corton Scott, who works part time in Brussels for a member of the European parliament.
Scott, a long-term Labour party supporter, said that while she understood people’s reluctance to come out in favour of a second referendum, she did not believe “there’s any Brexit that’s a Labour Brexit. That’s not aligned with my Labour values.” She firmly backs a “people’s vote”.
Adam Allnut, 29, a Labour activist and a supporter of For our Future’s Sake, a youth-led group backing the People’s Vote campaign, has been lobbying Fitzpatrick to oppose Brexit, but respects and understands his MP’s position.
“There’s no such thing as a jobs-first Brexit because every form of Brexit destroys the economy,” Allnut said. “I want a people’s vote, I want to remain in the EU, I want Labour in government, but I also want food on the table and to have a job.”
The economy weighs heavily on many young people’s minds. Nathosh Wjendran, 21, a student at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), said he didn’t understand why people would want to leave such a large trading area. “It will definitely take a major toll on business,” he said.
Millie Brooke, 18, who is studying film at QMUL, said the last few weeks have filled her with despair. “The government doesn’t really know what it’s doing and they probably should … But they don’t.” She has resigned herself to the idea that Brexit will happen.
Her friend Maliha Anas, 19, a student from Norway, said she was happy with her own country’s arrangement with the EU. “It works so well in Norway. It could work here. But then again, because the UK has been in the EU as long as it has, I don’t know how it will affect the relationship between the other EU countries,” she said.
The campaign for a second referendum had the backing of all the young people the Guardian spoke to in Poplar and Limehouse. Allnut said: “I think it should be between Theresa May’s deal and remain. These are the only two actual options on the table.”
Allnut said the first referendum was a vote between a known, staying in the EU, and the unknown – life outside the EU. He believes remain would defeat May’s deal in a second referendum. “This vote is a known versus a known. If people have those stark statistics in front of them, I don’t think there would be much of a fight if people actually engage with it.”
Scott said many people talked about the economic impact of Brexit but she was keen to stress its terrible effect on Britain’s social and cultural life. “For a long time the EU has been bankrolling the cultural face of Britain, but Brexit will make art even more reserved for the wealthy and elite, meaning it will only reflect a certain subset of people.”
Scott likened the last six weeks in parliament to a soap opera. “It’s worse than I could have ever imagined,” she said. “I don’t want to believe anyone wants to plunge this country into its darkest day, but I’m not holding out much hope.”
Constituency: Poplar and Limehouse
Average age: 27
Average house price: £321,500
% non-UK born: 45.4%
MP: Jim Fitzpatrick
Party: Labour
MP’s intended vote on May’s deal: Fitzpatrick is “inclined” to vote against May’s withdrawal agreement but will respect the result of the referendum
Referendum result: Remain (Poplar and Limehouse is part of Tower Hamlets, where 67.46% voted to remain in the EU)
