How will Brexit affect the younger generation?

The vote to leave the European Union wasn’t a small slipup that could be corrected at the next election, but a thoughtless and ill-informed decision that could cause damage for decades to come.

As the dust settles, the terrifying headlines and worrying rumours are coming fast. Will Nando’s really quit the UK? How high can the price of Freddos skyrocket? Aside from the gallows humour that has surfaced in the wake of Britain’s colossal, self-inflicted wound, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that nobody had a real plan for the day after the referendum.

Following Prime Minister David Cameron’s resignation, the UK is left like a troubled ship, floating in the sea without a captain, while it faces up to the unprecedented challenge of negotiating divorce with the EU.

The promises made by the Leave camp – £350 million a week for the NHS and a halt on migration – have already been abandoned within days of the vote. The next days, week and months were going to be a turbulent and political circus, with a leadership contest underway in the Conservative Party and Jeremy Corbyn’s position as Labour leader looking increasingly vulnerable to a party coup.

So where does it leave us? If you want to study, find work or travel in the near future, the uncertainties are pretty overwhelming. Opportunities for young people are decreasing and we’ll lose our automatic right to live and work in 27 EU countries.

Things are going to be tough for anyone who’s got more planned in the years to come than your typical, ageing Leave voter, sitting at home watching re-runs of Downton Abbey and whining about the Poles down the street.