While Young Britons Favor Staying in E.U., They Aren’t Big on Voting

One can't help but extrapolate to the US. Many thronged to Bernie Sanders' rallies, swarmed online conversations, etc., but what is their reason? This, from the article, doesn't apply:
"it could be particularly hard to motivate them, not just because many of them will be immersed in summer activities, but also because they are being asked to embrace the status quo rather than to take up an idealistic cause of change of the type that typically energizes young people."

British polling is absolutely notorious. They "randomized" the phone book and called people and those that agreed were in the study. First off the phone book is it's self randomized and the only people that sit down to answer questions are not young and those of the young that do are inclined to stay (so true enough). This in it's self is strange because they usually fall dead against the nefarious corporate global agenda. The stay campaign has the advantage of being the party of "nice" (as in nice to migrants and they don't want to finance a temporary bump in the cost of being a grown up...individually and as a nation). There is no longer a thing called civic virtue in England. It is verbotten to demand justice for the systematized rape of 1200 British girls- how could it be otherwise their assailants were assailants of color and muslim and thats major points in the victim game. I hope they leave. It is not a minor thing for a people to be accountable to themselves and no one else when determining the size of bathroom in a public housing flat.

Why so young one's - Why would you want to be dictated to by the repulsive Merkel!

The UK is lining up for the Johnson&Lafarge vision of "unravelling" towards a Trumpian "...again".
The only "again" on offer is beggar-thy-neighbor mercantilism, nationally bounded peasantry and speculator global citizenry.
But "unravelling" is a good metaphor because the body of law from which we are defecting is continuous and contiguous with the international monetary and governance legal systems created by our so-called 'greatest generation'.
We exchange that inheritance... A mission to go ascendant towards a scalar niche where win-win strategies are realistic...for Johnson&Lafarge's visiin of it's "unravelling".
And we prodigal simpletons in the UK sell the keys to that legal cathedral --a simple deletion!... For control of legal migration. And decriminalisation of diesel pollution.
Does it put our young to work? Finance flood defences? Put granny's pension out of the red? Not a chance. That demands specific leverage quite the opposite of the bauble on offer.

If leaving the EU turns out to be a disaster, will Britain never be able to rejoin? Why not make the change and see how it works? It might be wonderful for Britain to leave the EU.

There are some young people in Britain, who want to remain in the EU, but they aren't interested in politics. I don't blame them, because this referendum is highly controversial and more complicated than Brexit supporters want to believe.
In their blitheness, these young people rely on other people to make the right decision, and they seem to be optimistic about a positive outcome. They are used to have everything planned and provided for. They wouldn't mind to put up with state paternalism and be excluded from any political decision. But they would complain if they don't get what they want.

I think that some of young people believe in an ideal that seems good on paper, but is just not practible. As a European I would like harmony, but each of the 28 countries has its own interests with a political elite that has contempt for democracy. If we remain the elite will become emboldened and move to greater integration at the expense of democrarcy.

The EU is changed a lot -- it now includes many countries that will never have many jobs for the richer countries of the EU, like the UK, and will have many financial needs and limitations for the foreseeable. In addition, there are numerous other poorer Eastern European countries who want to join in the future.

I cannot see how the UK can benefit from being a major provider of funds and jobs to countries that will never be in a position to reciprocate. We have seen that migrants outside the EU aim for Britain and many workers from within the EU aim to establish themselves there too.

No country can be a long term major giver to many other countries, it is unsustainable. I hope the UK rescues itself from its future obligations under the EU by leaving now.

They had and should have free trade amongst the Euro Zone and that's all.
Why would a Brit want to turn over their social and economic future to group of regulators in Belgium.
Sovereignty is critical. We don't and will never have 1 world order and the sooner people embrace and celebrate their differences the better.

This is so much like what America is like. The younger citizens don't care because they don't' know how important the act of voting is to their own future. The excitement and urgency of so many "more important" things dominate their brains and their priorities....and by the time they finally put it all together, it is too late. It was that way before WWII, Vietnam (in America's case), 9/11, Iraq, the Great Recssion and now for the Brits, the EU choice and in America's case, the coming election between 2 candidates who have only 1 thing in common...they are both unpopular and polarizing. If these young people could only be able to look back for 60 years like us old folks can, I suspect elections would be much more urgently important to them. But they can't and history is written by winners more than written honestly and objectively.

Australia took care of this deadly generational myopia nearly 100 years ago with mandatory voting by all citizens. No age issues, no voter suppression issues, no activist minorities hijacking the government through expected voter apathy...In short, better, truly more representative government that is the result of votes cast more than money spent surpresing one group while promoting another group.

"whatever"--a young person's comment on how they get their information and what's going on with Brexit. Also, that the appeals from both sides are propaganda (emotional) ads. Lacking in this campaign is something from the EU to address British concerns, such as occurred with Scottish independence. Maybe they don't care, i.e. the technocrats that run the show. Or possibly the problem is systematic to the EU, and the answer is more democratic representation in the EU. This would be more Democracy, a process of ballot initiatives providing for votes of all the citizens on important issues--maybe even Elective offices (don't want to get too radical here).

The appearance from the outside is that German and British bankers run the show. Slow or no growth; collect rents. French workers help with this by preventing normal hiring and firing. On the plus side, they educate everybody and take climate change seriously.

Someone should be trying to find some common ground here--an opportunity to perfect the Union, hopefully through more democracy.

They should leave of course. They were doing fine before. Some folks got greedy and wanted in, but the benefits are unclear and the lack of sovereignty and response to citizens is problematic.

Well those young people should never get sick or old, because when they are in need of quality medical care it won't be available to them so readily.
The EU allows anyone to seek medical care in other countries. The UK, having one of the best, their remaining in the EU promotes more 'medical tourism'.
Young adults are immortal and never think in advance of their later stages in life.

Although I have no great love for the English, being of Irish descent, I hope that they vote out of the EU. It will be pretty lonley here when the muslims take over the remains of the EU

They all sound just like so many of Bernie Sanders followers here in the US: idealistic, optimistic, even passionate, but completely unaware that Politics is almost always a long view game, where actual involvement is everything. You need to vote, stay involved, have workable ideas that will work in the real world, and have a chance to be implemented too.

Politics is, at its heart, a remarkably unglamorous and tedious profession. Showing up to vote every now and then, or showing up, but not even voting is pretty useless over the long run.

We have seen this before in the US. Where did all the young people that voted for Obama in 2008 go in 2010 or 2014? Easy come, easy go, easily distracted, easily disaffected...

Remain in the E.U. and the British will watch their own country and culture evaporate as is happening right now in Germany, France and many other European nations. Endless illegal migration from the Middle East will be the cause. The result will be more Islamic based terrorism, fomented by radical Muslim clerics who refuse to let their people assimilate into the culture of their host countries. Save yourself, Great Britain. Withdraw.

The larger and more powerful any government entity is the more corrupt it becomes. It has always been that way and always will. Smaller governments closer to the people governed is preferable. Not perfect but easier to deal with.

As I am away on 23/6 I got a postal vote and have already voted LEAVE. I am very very worried that we might not vote to leave. Staying in the Soviet-style EU is worrying. Who cares if the economy has a blip for a bit (but I doubt it will)? There are more important things at stake. The UK is a global nation, with a Commonwealth family we have turned out backs on for too long. Hang on world, we're coming back out of this nightmare.

Can't wait till all these responsible soccer fans get back from Marseilles (if they are still not in clink) to exercise their vote in the usual sensible manner. We could set up some pepper spray and fire hoses to make them feel at home. I'd be assuming since they want to fight with the EU they want out???

There is the notion that crises bring out the best in human beings, but history seems to tell us that it is quite the other way around.

Why don't young people vote? I can't understand this. I registered when I became 18. I was raised believing that was something that citizens ought to do. That the strength of the country depended on all of our involvement. I'm now in my late 60's and can honestly say that since I registered I've not voted only one time. That was for a local primary election. That was a mistake… I simply spaced it. And I've never forgotten the shame of it.

So is it a generational thing? I can't believe the internet has caused this dis-involvement because young people have always had ways to become distracted.

Anyway, it is a sad situation. The world is heading toward massive chaos what with climate change, global terrorism, economic instability among other things. If the youth don't become involved, soon they'll find out there's no opportunity to do so.

I read The Guardian daily; since the same stories appear in both The Guardian and the NYT, I'm assuming they're owned by the same oligarchs?

While I personally hope Brexit succeeds, the bigger picture I see both in the US and in England is an about-to-boil-over citizenry fed up with outsourcing, unrestricted immigration, and the complicity of politicians and oligarchs in stacking the deck against people who aren't bloodthirsty with greed and a need to dominate.

The same types that bewail Brexit support Hillary Enrich-Myself Clinton and supported Jeb Bush.

That should tell us something.

Why would Britain remain in a pact with the EU and give up their sovereignty? Nothing good comes from turning over your country to someone else. They should maintain their right to decide who comes to their country and what laws they will follow. There doesn't even seem to be a good argument for continuing to stay with the EU.

The basis of most sound economies in the long term are a broad labor force and free movement of goods, like the way the United States is structured. Every country in Europe is fairly small in population so it makes sense to band together to take advantage of a more diverse labor pool. Japan refuses to allow immigration and their economy has been stagnant for years. I find the Brexit to be racist and/or nationalist which has never served any country well and I also find that many of the people who support it are uneducated. This suggests to me that they don't grasp the larger issues at play and are only reacting based on "gut" or the real definition of that word: emotion. To be honest, I would love the chance to easily live and work in Europe. I think this Brexit is not only short sited, at the root of it is simply xenophobia and that is no way to shape economic policy.

"Fog in Channel; Continent Cut Off". Looks like they're trying to head back to the good old Thirties.

Brits, we need you. Don't pull away from the world.

One thing never mentioned in these articles is that membership in the EU has allowed unlimited immigration from EU countries at the expense of Americans and Canadians. Due to the requirement to accept anyone from the EU, the UK govt has clamped down hard on Americans, Canadians, Australians and anyone else from a non-EU country wishing to join their spouse in the UK. (high fees and income requirements have been introduced which have made half the people in the UK unable to get permission to live with their overseas spouse.)

However, strangely this policy does not apply to EU citizens living in the UK who may freely bring their non-EU partner with no fee and no income requirements whatsoever.

Cameron hit a all new low today by threatening pensioners...the man is desperate.

It is often forgotten that the concept of a European Union came into being after the horrors of the two World Wars that killed tens of millions of people and devastated many cities. Instead of fighting each other those countries decided to unite in a common venture. The same logic still holds true. Those in favor of remaining in the EU must stress the positive qualities of union rather than engaging in negative propaganda.

In the world of economic (and soon military) giants like China and India, in addition to the United States and Russia, it is a big mistake for a country like Britain to try to go it alone. The world has changed and even Britain’s closest ally the United States wants Britain to stay in the EU. Combining the ease of travel, lack of visas, the same currency for all those within the Eurozone, greater emphasis on environment, human rights and workers’ rights such as compulsory paid holiday and maternity and paternity rights make the membership of these countries that have inherited the benefits of the Age of Enlightenment a very positive gain. Furthermore, now it is the biggest economic bloc in the world.

The next thing the EU should do is to free itself from political alliance either to the United States or Russia and have an independent and hopefully a moderate and peaceful voice in the emerging world.

The history of the creation of the United States of America was not all that easy or quick, even though the states were much more homogenous than the current states of the EU. Thus, it is not surprising that there were and continue to be significant growing pains in forming a true pan European government.

If the UK chooses to withdraw, it will probably mean both the end of the UK (when Scotland withdraws) and the EU as Germany, in particular, toys with the idea of doing the same which will dilute its leadership in the EU and further weaken the EU. This will also challenge many international alliances and institutions, such as NATO, the British Commonwealth, and, possibly, even the UN. Thus, the consequences could be great and very lasting. These consequences would no doubt greatly please Russia and China and encourage them to seek more dominance in world affairs as they tried to isolate the US which would likely happen unless the US strongly opposed Russian and Chinese efforts try to reorder things more to their liking.

It would not be a pretty picture. However, while it would be a definite setback, in time the world would adjust, and, in the long term, the US would probably emerge even more dominant in world affairs, provided it remains willing to be the world's policeman and continues a robust presence in world affairs, but there would be an enormous cost to US taxpayers to meet this challenge.

It's the same inattentiveness that raises question about whether the "young" that should raise questions about how knowledgable they are about the pros and cons of staying in the EU. But never mind, we don't have time to consider that. "What just happened?"

Have you all noticed that the advocates of Britain staying "in" are nearly always touting economic consequences of Brexit. Well then the simple answer to that is there was a perfect economic union, the EEC, which provided a tremendous economic boom to the then members. The trouble was that the zombie Eurocrats were not satisfied with letting a good thing continue but felt compelled to make a legislative union, the EU, which has proved to be the biggest factor in provoking European disunity by usurping sovereign powers including a hair-brained immigration policy threatening the very bed-rock of western European culture and tailor made national institutions. The EU bureaucracy is mind boggling and self-perpetuating. The economic advantages of scrapping a large part of it would be colossal and whatever functions are found essential can be better executed by the existing highly competent national civil service corps. If Brexit prevails it will be followed by an implosion of the remaining EU. In that case our national governments can and will surely put their heads together to reform the over-reaching EU with a revamped EEC, this time including only those countries with like economies and fiscal discipline.

considering that the young will have the longest to live with the consequences of this decision, it really makes sense for them to make sure they vote. It's their own present and future at stake.

Considering the problems the EU has within itself, with Turkey and the millions of immigrants entering Europe the last thing the Brits want is joining that swamp.

CORRECTION: on my previous post I meant to say: "The UK pays £55 million a day (not £35 million) in EU membership fees -- of which, we receive in grants and subsidies from the EU some £20. This means that £35 million a day disappears into the EU 'black hole' and is never seen again by the British people." Apologies for that. Thanks for reading. And do, by all means, do your own research.

The UK pays a membership fee of £35 million a day (about £20 Billion a year) to the EU; in return, the UK receives back £20 million in grants, subsidies, stipends etc. The remaining £25 million a day disappears into the big black EU bureaucratic 'hole' where it is unaccounted for (satisfactorily). Also in return, Britain is FORCED to accept any EU member citizen (that's 28 countries) who wishes to come and live in the UK. Problem is Britain has been OVERWHELMED by mass migration from countries in the EU much poorer than the UK -- drawn to our country by its very generous benefits (free housing, health care, education, job seekers allowances, child benefits etc.). Our National Health Service is crumbling under the strain -- as are our schools, welfare system, etc. Those who DO work in the UK from the EU are taking jobs from UK workers - because big businesses are abusing the cheap EU labour. Therefore; for most of us who live and work in the UK and have done all our lives -- to BREXIT and break away from the EU (which is already crumbling due to Euro weaknesses and unlimited and uncontrolled mass migration) -- is a WIN/WIN situation for us. We get to put the £35 million a day that we currently give to the EU toward our own infrastructure (the NHS, schools, housing, benefits etc.) AND we stop being a dumping ground for unsustainable numbers of migrants.

It's an unbelievable state of affairs. We have a prime minister who didn't have a good word to say about the EU and was considered a eurosceptic prior to the referendum, now in a sheer panic that we might vote to leave. If we do leave, one consolation will be Cameron's resignation.

Apprently there is a growing political apathy among young people not only in the UK, but in the entire EU. Also in Romania, young people were leaning to the progressive parties massively, but they didn't turn out to vote, preffering concerts and other fun activities during that day.

However, I don't think we should put the blame on young people because of it. The responsibility for the civic duties is on the shoulders of parents, the education system and the civil society, who ought to teach them since they are children the importance of voting and explain the consequences of passivity in a democracy.

Soon we may all have to pay the price of young people's political apathy if we will not act.

Why would citizens of any country want to stay in the EU when there is absolutely zero accountability for the policy dictates coming from Brussels?

The EU is nothing more than modern feudalism with all its arrogance and abuse of individual rights under the guise of some 'collective good' meted out by ivory tower bureaucrats.

Time to reclaim the Enlightenment.

People I know in Scotland are in favor of staying in the EU. If the Brits exit it may make the split with Scotland happen sooner.

Cameron has fired his Fear shot = threatens pensioner with no raise, no free bus passes and not free TV if Brexit passes.

Sounds like desperation to me. Look like the Remain Camp will say anything to win,