British Students Weigh In On Whether To 'Brexit' Or 'Remain'

In two days Britain will vote on whether to leave the European Union, and the latest polls show a slight tilt towards "Remain," or Britain remaining in the E.U., and away from "Brexit," or leaving the E.U.

Two British university students with differing opinions tell Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd why they're voting for - and against - remaining in the E.U.

On reasons to leave the European Union

Kneafsey: "So I've kind of teetered around the middle for a while, but I think I'm going to be voting to leave the EU. The biggest reason for me is that whilst I don't disagree with having some form of cooperation with other European countries, I think that the EU has kind of overstepped and kind of come into too many areas. And also, given what's happened with the Eurozone and so on, that it's sort of failing as a structure."

On reasons to remain in the European Union

Norcliffe-Brown: "I think the E.U. has a lot of problems, and they need to be sorted out. However, the question is now whether we would be better leaving or staying in. And I think, while we can look at the problems of the E.U. and recognize them, I think everyone would be in a lot worse position if we were to leave. First, if somebody wants to study in Europe and there's a risk that a lot of these programs will become more expensive for British students. Also, of course, job-wise there's a lot of companies that do work mainly in the common market, and a lot of them would probably relocate, to somewhere like Germany, if we were to leave."

On whether or not leaving would improve future job prospects

Kneafsey: "I don't know. I think that most people on both sides would accept that there would definitely be some short-term economic loss. But I'm not convinced by the sort of long-term economic scare mongering that the other side have kind of been talking about. And I think that there's whole world out there for us to trade with and engage with in business. And I think the EU is sort of, you know, it's getting left behind in terms of the world of work and business, and it's not the most important thing to the UK anymore."

On immigration as a reason to leave the E.U.

Kneafsey: "I think that immigration argument has taken in some ways taken a bit of a nasty turn. We have a lot of issues in the UK for example with workers only offering jobs to EU workers. But I think that does warrant some concern with the current levels of immigration."

On the discussion on Oxford's campus about leaving or remaining

Norcliffe-Brown: "Yeah, most people I know are voting, most have made up their mind one way or the other, and people are definitely going down to the pub and talking about it."

Dominic Norcliffe-Brown, University of Oxford student studying politics, philosophy and economics. He is a "Remain" supporter.

Grace Kneafsey, recent University of Oxford graduated from Oxford with a degree in geography. She is a "Brexit" supporter. She tweets @GraceyKn.