In the field of anion exchange membranes, structures devoid of arylene ether linkages and other polarized bonds as part of the backbone architecture are commonly employed to prevent degradation. This strategy has positioned structures derived from polyethylene, polystyrene, styrene-ethylene-butylene copolymers, polyphenylenes, polyfluorenes, polycarbazole, polynorbornenes, poly(arylene piperidine), and poly(arylene alkylene)s in the center of attention for further functionalization with cationic groups. The lessons learned about alkaline resilience and backbone stability of cationic ionomers from the large body of literature indicate that similar backbone chemistries could be a rational development to mitigate degradation of alkaline ion-solvating membranes. To realize technically useful ion-solvating membranes, a stable polymer backbone should be equipped with a hydrophilic moiety that can promote electrolyte uptake and at the same time withstand the harsh conditions withing the operating cell. In this work, vinyl copolymers equipped with tetrazole pendants are explored as a new class of ion-solvating membranes for alkaline water electrolysis. While the heteroatom-free backbone provided chemical stability of the polymer matrix, the tetrazole pendants were found to be remarkably resilient to chemical degradation. Supported by small molecule model system studies and simulations, the excellent chemical stability was found to be due to the nearly complete ionization of the hydrophilic pendants. The electrolyte uptake and conductivity could be tuned by adjusting the degree of functionalization and the concentration of the surrounding electrolyte, and the optimized material was found to combine excellent polarization behavior during electrolysis in 15 wt% KOH with good gas barrier properties.