Students EU Referendum Result on a Knife Edge

Representatives on both sides of the debate spoke passionately to students.

The outcome of the mock EU Referendum held by our students this week was balanced on a knife edge.
Following a passionate debate between a UKIP and Labour representative on whether we should leave or remain in the EU, the Remain campaign squeaked through with a 52 per cent majority of student votes.

UKIP representative for Fareham, Cllr Christopher Wood argued for the Leave campaign and Labour candidate, Sam Butler, for Fleet East represented the Remain debate to a 150-strong audience of students and staff at our Boundary Road campus.

Ballot boxes were spread throughout the campus and students had tutorials about the Referendum before going into the fully-booked hustings for the ‘EU Mockerendum’.

Head of Academic Studies, Adam Seddon, who helped organise the event with Student Services Officer Katie Chuter, said: “Whether they are able to vote or not on June 23, all our students are going to be affected by the outcome.

Both speakers gave very strong and passionate arguments for their case and our students asked some very probing questions. It was a great chance for the college to feel democracy in action! The college vote was very close – as it will likely be next week.”

Katie added: “This was a fantastic opportunity for students to learn about the political process in the UK, from how to correctly fill in a ballot paper to weighing up the pros and cons raised during a debate. I hope that the close result of our mock vote has demonstrated to students just how important their vote can be.”