Goodbye Gen X … The Xennials are running Britain now

LONDON – As a new year begins, a new micro-generation is driving Britain. Rishi Sunak’s arrival at Number 10 Downing Street has ushered in the age of the “genials”.

At 42, Sunak is – famously – Britain’s youngest prime minister in over 200 years, although only a year or so younger than David Cameron and Tony Blair when they were each in power. had come

But according to commentators, and those who work closely with the new look No 10, Sunak and his young Downing Street operation are in a generation – and it is shaping the choices they make in office.

Born in May 1980, Sunak is part of the micro generation Known as “Xenials” People born in a small window in the late 1970s and early 80s, Generation X and Millennials.

Unlike his digital-native millennial colleagues who grew up in an analog world of VCRs and cassette tapes, have yet largely worked in the age of smartphones and high-speed internet.

They started their careers before the 2008 financial crisis, and many got stuck on the housing ladder before they even took off. But they, like millennials, have worked through the crash, the political upheaval of 2010, and the COVID-19 crisis.

Amazingly, Sunak’s Downing Street operation is staffed by the same youth group.

The previous month, he appointed his school friend James Forsyth, a Spectator journalist, as his political secretary, further cementing Downing Street’s axenal ranks. Oliver Dowden, Sunak’s close friend and Cabinet Office fixer, and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, Sunak’s most senior civil servant, were both born in 1978. Elizabeth Perelman, principal private secretary to the prime minister, his civil service gatekeeper, is also believed to be a part. Of the same subtle generation.

In No. 10 of the Craze, old heads are few and far between.

Team Sunak is a “proper coup d’état,” said a former aide close to Sunak, also referring to the appointment of Eleanor Shawcross, who runs Sunak’s policy unit, and Bill Morgan and Nick Park, principal policy advisers.

Unlike their Gen X predecessors, the genial were still children when Margaret Thatcher was in her prime. The Conservative prime minister had left office by the time he was politically in his late teens and early 20s, even though his legacy lives on.

American journalist Sarah Stankorb, who coined the term in 2014, noted “they’re not cynical enough to be truly grunge, but not as cheerful helicopter-parents as millennial, participation-trophy kids.” tellingReferring to a modern phenomenon where children are given prizes simply for participating in competitions.

digital divide

Stankorb has noticed another important feature in his generation. “You can understand ‘before’ [digital] times, but you are also capable of learning,” she writes. “In some ways you’re a digital native, but it’s not like being born into it, like young millennials or General Z.

Speaking On Politico’s Westminster Insider Podcast Back in 2021, Sunak confirmed that he can remember the era of mix tapes, and he revealed that his wife probably still has a mix CD he made for her in their youth. He also remembered when discs were actually floppy—all major Xenial features.

Those who know Sunak well say there are clear indications of this mindset in the way he and his colleagues are running No. 10.

The former aide quoted above claimed that Sunak was “the most tech-aware prime minister we’ve ever had,” and that “if he has time, he’ll make it into policy-making in a way other prime ministers haven’t.” “

A lobbyist who has worked with Sunak said it was hard to predict how the PM would move on an issue because he is “extremely driven by data”.

But another former adviser fears Sunak’s foray into the digital and analogue world may not be to his advantage, and could lead to fundamental errors of tone and judgement.

,[Xennials] Don’t understand why people click on useless things all the time and spend all their time on social media, but [they] Know that the future is right there,” said the former advisor.

“That’s why you find it all ugly [government] video, even though no one would be following the PM’s accounts and being informed through that. That’s why you get ministerial TikTok, and the rise of [former health secretary] Matt Hancock.” Hancock, known for his toe curling use of social media, Was born in 1978.

“It’s just an annoyance,” said the former adviser. “It’s not working anyhow, and it’s what makes the Tories look like even bigger geeks than they are.”

policy options

Given his relative youth, Sunak has already faced questions about whether his policy agenda offers anything for squeezed millennials still struggling to find a foothold on the housing ladder. Is.

Challenged on the same point in a BBC interview on Sunday, Sunak reiterated the pledges he had made in his new year speech Tackling inflation, restarting economic growth and reducing public sector debt—among them—were “the country’s priorities”.

“The best thing we can do to help that generation is to bring down interest rates, and that means bringing down inflation, which is why this year the first priority I set was to cut inflation in half, The second priority that I had set was to develop. economy,” he said.

But many Tory strategists fear that Sunak and his party are still doing too little to woo millennial voters, citing data suggest The Tories are shedding support among this cohort.

Ryan Shorthouse, founder of the Bright Blue think tank for centrist Conservatives, said the decline in young people voting Tory was linked to a chronic lack of affordable housing in Britain as well as a lack of economic stability to start the falling birth rates between generations. can be held responsible for. Family.

“I think that should send shivers down the Conservative spine,” he said. “I haven’t seen enough from Sage yet about supporting his generation, after all.”

hoodies are for lounging

Back at No. 10, Sunak has also abandoned some of the work habits that have come to define millennials, including a pandemic-induced fondness for informal dress and doing household chores.

Whereas featured often According to a current official, Sunak is actually wearing a hoodie, one clipped to Liz. Truss-Era Dictate That Employees Be Smartly Dressed,

“That’s a relatively traditional [in his managerial style]Which probably speaks to both generations being at the pinnacle,” said the first former advisor quoted above.

“He is quite dignified and respected, and I suspect he wants people dressed properly most of the time. He definitely wants people around him, putting in hours,” the consultant said.

Despite concerns about Sunak’s policy focus, Shorthouse said there are “really influential” people in Number 10, including Shawcross and deputy chief of staff Will Tanner, who are “working to improve policy for millennials and young people”. Very passionate about.”

And while the time for exennials may come in at No. 10, Sunak also has a number of senior millennial executives on his team.

His chief of staff Liam Booth-Smith, communications director Amber de Botton and press secretary Nerissa Chesterfield all qualify as proper millennials. Sunak’s 37-year-old parliamentary private secretary, Craig Williams, the MP tasked with being the key point-person with Conservative backbenchers, is vital to the Downing Street operation, and “completely trusted” by the team, said a second current adviser.

Old Head is also at the center of Sunak’s extensive operations, albeit located outside Number 10. Chief Whip Simon Hart, who turns 60 later this year, has been in “all the important meetings”, said the other current adviser. Sunak’s Downing Street neighbour, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, 56, is also said to be on good terms with the PM.

Sunak is certainly not the first zenial world leader, and should he need advice from a global ally of similar age, he can always pick up the phone to French President Emmanuel Macron – who was born in December 1977.

Failing to do so, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is also considered a genius.