Youth and Youth Policy in the UK: Post-Brexit View

The paper discusses the current situation of young people and the experience of implementing the youth policy in the post-Brexit UK on the base of a qualitative analysis of the results of in-depth interviewing of senior officials associated with the implementing of the youth policy at the regional and national levels, the representatives of higher education institutions, and of the public organizations dealing with youth issues. First, the institutional foundations of the youth policy are specified. Further, based on the expert opinion, the characteristics of the current situation of the young people are described: the existence of economic problems such as increased poverty, unemployment, insufficient level of education; aggravated sense of isolation from the common European home, which runs counter to the common European identity; ethnic, social, racial obstacles to successful career development and the growth of hostility towards immigrants. The paper puts forward proposals on the effectiveness of the implementation of the youth policy, on new challenges for young people associated with the country's decision to withdraw from the European Union, the situation of migrants after Brexit, the vulnerability of youth at the intersections of social classes and ethnic identity. The conclusion is drawn on the effectiveness of youth policy that is insufficient in the context of an aggravating economic crisis, the growth of aggression in society. The consequences of the ineffective youth policy in the form of radicalization of youth, absenteeism and other signs of the weakness of the role of youth in the political life of the country are highlighted. The author emphasizes the need for youth policy to develop the political conscience among young people, to ensure intercultural dialogue among the representatives of different ethnic and religious groups residing in the country, to integrate the remaining immigrants into the host society and to create a civic identity among young people in post-Brexit UK.