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Dear [name],
I am writing to you as somebody in your constituency who is frankly tired with the state of affairs with EU-UK relations in their present format because I think the current situation means that a lot of young people (including me) aren’t able to live the lives of people before us and also likely will not want to do business in the UK in the future.
A little bit of context about me. I own a UK Ltd company (Web Scale Software Ltd) which does consultancy for different companies. I am also a 22 year old that was unable to vote in the Brexit referendum because the voting age was grossly high for something that impacts young people. Most of my friends, including British nationals oversees who left before Brexit was fully implemented, live in Sweden. I really love Sweden and the people in it, and I really enjoy travelling. I think people seeing new cultures is very important, and helps to widen perspectives within the UK. I feel like this has been robbed from me because of the much stricter requirements post-Brexit.
Honestly, as a 22 year old, this has really impacted my mental health. I probably would have a much more successful business (which would earn the UK significant tax revenue) if I felt comfortable where I lived. Unfortunately, since there is a very expensive (and with costs growing due to Labour’s APD increases) process, so I end up feeling really isolated. The end result of this is that I spent a lot of my short time as an adult depressed and unable to contribute to this company as much as I could’ve (which is obviously a net loss for the country).
I was slightly optimistic about the news that was leaked about under 25’s being able to travel and work in the EU. Whilst this doesn’t fix the consequences of Brexit, it at least would fix mine (and many other people who were in school and had zero ability to influence the votes) future since I could work in a country I love whilst contributing to the UK economy too. Unfortunately, with pressure from other parties, Labour was quick to cave and stopped this. So frankly to be blunt, I don’t really see a point in having a UK company when I finally figure everything out. As a software engineer, this will cost you greatly, and for me I just feel hurt that the country I once loved doesn’t really care about me.
There is a way to fix all of this for people: restore freedom of movement. You’re keeping young people in whilst forcing people out. It’s a desecration of opportunities for young adults like myself.
Frankly, if Labour thinks that they can do this to young adults and that we will want to do business with the UK, they are mistaken.
Yours sincerely,
Astrid Gealer