Pat McFadden MP has supported two young people from the Black Country to launch their innovative ‘Our Brexit’ project.

Venandah Madanhi, 20 (Bilston) and Nathan Powell, 20 (Tipton) came up with an idea to give young people outside London a greater voice in the UK’s Brexit discussions and came up with ‘Our Brexit’ campaign.

Venandah and Nathan discussed their thinking behind the project, “The current narrative is that young people aren’t getting any say in Brexit negotiations being held between the UK and the EU. Young people wish to be a part of Brexit negotiations, yet there is no platform for them to have the influence that they want to have. Our Brexit is a politically neutral campaign. It will create a lot of scope for young people to engage with the Government, interview campaign groups, criticise or even praise policy suggestions and be a part of the process. Young people will endure the effects of Brexit for the longest, therefore, it is imperative that we get the opportunity to have a say on our own futures. Ultimately, we hope that we can gain enough traction to be able to influence the Government into considering the views of young people.”

The British Youth Council noted that 90% of young people wish to have a meaningful say in Brexit negotiations. So, what better way to start those conversations than here in the Black Country!

Pat McFadden, MP for Wolverhampton South East who is also on the select committee for Exiting the EU, is the first MP to support these two young people with the project. He hosted a focus group with 10 young people on Friday and followed an agenda devised by Venandah and Nathan in order to open up conversations with young people about their hopes and fears of the UK’s post referendum future.

Pat commented:
“It’s a great credit to Venandah Madanhi and Nathan Powell that they have organised Our Brexit -; a campaign to give young people outside London a greater voice in the UK’s post referendum future. One thing we have learned -; admitted by Leave and Remain campaigners alike -; is that Brexit is a great deal more difficult and complex than was claimed at the time of the referendum. There are new issues coming to light all the time. I think it’s really important that young people have a voice on these, whether it’s freedom to work and study elsewhere, universities’ access to research funds or the economics of leaving the EU. We had a very good meeting in Bilston covering all these issues and I look forward to working more with Our Brexit in the future.”

If you are 18 – 30 years old and want to get involved with ‘Our Brexit’ campaign then please follow;

@OurBrexit on Twitter or e-mail venandahmadanhi@outlook.com

 https://youtu.be/zMdB2YGOkGg