Boris Johnson warns of wettest generation since the Flood amid campus culture of risk aversion

Former prime minister Boris Johnson criticized what he called the wettest generation since the Flood in a column published this week, arguing that today’s young people are increasingly reluctant to drive, drink, and even discuss controversial views. Johnson contended that a culture of heightened sensitivity and political correctness is eroding the national spirit and leaving Britain less prepared to confront challenges abroad.

Johnson linked a recent incident at the Oxford Union, the student debating society at Oxford University, to a broader trend of wokery and offence taking that he says threatens free speech. He noted that the Oxford Union's president elect faces disciplinary action after remarks celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk, the American conservative who was shot last week during a debate in Utah. He argued that the reaction reveals a wider malaise rather than a case for suppressing views, and he contrasted the students intense moral philosophy tutorials with what he sees as an inability to cope with opinions they dislike.

He also invoked a cautionary memory from the 1933 Oxford Union vote when students pledged not to fight for country in a hypothetical scenario, arguing that those undergrads later fought bravely in World War II. He said the current generation is kind and morally alert but warned that a culture of general wokery stokes risk aversion and fuels anxiety, limiting actions that would once have been expected in a crisis.

Data cited by Johnson indicate that younger people are driving less, drinking less, and having less sex than earlier cohorts. He argued that these shifts are not solely explained by economics and pointed to a national survey showing reduced sexual activity among under 25s, a trend intensified by Covid-19 and not yet back to pre pandemic levels. He suggested the trend may reflect emotional concerns and a preference for safe, controlled experiences over risk.

On national security and foreign policy, Johnson warned that adversaries such as Russia and its president would misread Britain as weak if the country is seen as overly risk averse. He called for a restoration of mental and physical resilience and for a world in which the country demonstrates willingness to defend freedom, even if the generation being described would rather avoid confrontation.

Johnson closed by praising the Oxford Union students for their intelligence and kindness but argued that their current mood risks undermining the nation's capacity to respond to threats. He asserted the need for a culture that values free speech and resilience, not only comfortable dialogue in prestigious halls.