You're reading: Remain or Leave? Brits voice their views on Brexit

Voters in the United Kingdom went to the polls on June 23 to make a decision that will determine the future fate of the country and indeed the entire European Union for years to come. With the outcome of this vital vote still unknown at the time of writing, opinion polls give those who want to stay in the EU, known as the “Remain” camp, a slight lead. But given that the pollsters got the result of the last UK general election result hopelessly wrong in 2015, neither side can be confident of a win.

According to The Independent, the latest polls give Remain a two-point lead (51 percent to 49 percent).

Lviv journalist Ostap Yarysh spoke to voters in the UK for the Kyiv Post to find out which side they were voting for, and why.

Leave

Christopher
Clarkson, Salford, England

For
me, the referendum is about the issue of sovereignty. My primary
concern is that ultimately, the core decisions within the EU are made
by the European Commission, and they are not accountable to the
electorate at any level. I think this is a dangerous erosion of
national sovereignty. It’s for that reason I’m voting leave today.
In the longer term, I believe UK citizens will benefit from the
advantages of the more internationalist world view afforded by being
outside the EU. The UK will be able to negotiate its own trade
agreements with a broad array of developing an established economies.
At the political level, I believe it will lead to higher levels of
accountability and devolution of power, ensuring more laws are made
at a level close to the people they affect.”

Taras
Semeniuk, London, England

I’m
not an average Brit, as I was born in Ukraine and am a naturalized UK
citizen. For most people who support the leave side, immigration is
the main reason why they think Britain should leave the EU. I believe
that leaving the EU could potentially bring lots of advantages, and
make Britain even greater. First of all, the United Kingdom pays a
price for being a member of the EU, by being one of the biggest
economic contributors. The gross cost works out to 350 million pounds
a week. The amount of funding that the UK gets back is much less than
that contribution. Secondly, British people should regain their
complete independence and control over laws and legislation.
Countries like the United States, Canada or Australia have been
developing without being members of the EU, and they’re doing
well.”

Remain

Jack
Burdess, Durham, England

Initially,
I never thought the vote would be this close. I thought the EU
referendum was just something to make Nigel Farage and UKIP shut up.
The leave campaign is using immigration and terrorism as a driving
force for the EU referendum. Personally, I think that patriotism is a
damaging and outdated way of thinking, and the problems we face today
are bigger than ourselves, and our country. The main problems that we
face today are global, so we need to adopt a new global way of
thinking, beyond our own borders. If Britain leaves the European
Union, we have two years to negotiate the terms of our independence –
time that could be spent doing something that actually matters.
Britain also has one of the most powerful passports in the world,
with easy access to 156 countries including freedom of movement
throughout Europe. If we were to leave, this could change. Many
people in the UK sometimes forget how privileged we are to live in a
country with such a strong economy.”

Andrew
Weston, Blackburn, England

Remaining
in the European Union, being part of a larger group of countries that
will always discuss their differences rather than waging war, makes
sense to me. I’ve also grown up benefiting from free travel across
the EU, and I’ve always felt as much a part of Europe as I have a
part of the UK. More specifically, I don’t buy any of the arguments
being put forward by the leave campaign. In fact, I’ve developed a
greater mistrust for politicians – and I didn’t think that was
possible. Economically, the leave campaign doesn’t have a leg to
stand on – and even they know this. So they’ve refrained from
engaging in the debate about expert economic predications should the
UK vote for a Brexit. Overall, I strongly believe that a UK outside
the EU would see an initial economic downturn, yet continue with the
same problems and step up the damaging social and economic policies
of the past five years. If Britain leaves the EU, I doubt the angers
and fears of the British public will even be considered, let alone
addressed (by the EU). But if we vote to remain, then the European
Union will have to take note. Otherwise, it will risk collapse once
again in future referendums.”

Brexit
primer

The United
Kingdom European membership referendum, also known as the Brexit
referendum, is being held on June 23. The question on the ballot is a
simple one: “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the
European Union or leave the European Union?” But that simple
question has sparked an acrimonious and confusing debate.


The
referendum was called to fulfill an election pledge made by Prime
Minister David Cameron, who may have been hoping to quash the
Euroskeptic wing of his Conservative Party once and for all with the
vote. Instead, it has riven his government in two, with some
ministers campaigning against their prime minister’s Remain camp,
including Justice Minister Michael Gove. The leave camp is also
supported by one of Cameron’s former classmates at Eton, Boris
Johnson (the former mayor of London) and other prominent
conservatives. The holding of the referendum also gave a shot in the
arm to UKIP (the United Kingdom Independence Party), a populist,
nationalist party which did dismally in the last local elections, and
whose leader, Nigel Farage, has failed to win a seat in the UK
parliament five times.

While
some of Cameron’s party and government colleagues have rebelled
against him, the prime minister has received support for his remain
campaign from some of his political foes, including the Labour Party,
the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats.

The
final results of the referendum are expected to be announced on the
morning of June 24. If most Brits vote to leave, it will take at
least two years to finish all the required procedures to quit the EU
– and probably a lot more.