Discontent over immigration reaches its highest level since 2015
Discontent over the government’s handling of immigration reaches its highest level since 2015 as two in three voters say they are dissatisfied
- Most Tory voters were angry that ministers have not stopped small boats
- Almost half of Labour voters felt there was a ‘negative’ environment for arrivals
Two in three voters are dissatisfied with the Government’s handling of immigration, reveals a report.
Public discontent over the contentious topic is at its highest since the survey by pollsters Ipsos and think-tank British Future began in 2015.
Only one in five (22 per cent) Conservative supporters are happy with how ministers are dealing with migration, with more than half (56 per cent) unhappy.
Among Labour voters, nearly three out of four (73 per cent) are dissatisfied with fewer than one in ten (8 per cent) saying the opposite.
Most of those questioned said they were unhappy about migrants crossing the Channel in dinghies but their reasons divided along political lines.
Most of those questioned said they were unhappy about migrants crossing the Channel in dinghies but their reasons divided along political lines
Four out of five Tories were angry that ministers had not stopped the boats while almost half of Labour supporters (46 per cent) felt there was a ‘negative or fearful environment’ for new arrivals.
Almost half the 3,000 adults surveyed online last month (48 per cent) support reducing immigration.
This remains far lower than in the first year of the Immigration Attitudes Tracker, when 67 per cent backed a reduction in numbers.
Meanwhile 44 per cent want numbers to stay the same and 22 per cent want them to increase.
Four out of five Tories were angry that ministers had not stopped the boats while almost half of Labour supporters (46 per cent) felt there was a ‘negative or fearful environment’ for new arrivals
Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, said: ‘The Government’s approach to immigration is disappointing everyone but for different reasons.
‘Liberals think it is inhumane while hardliners think it isn’t achieving what has been promised. We should expect a noisier, more heated immigration debate as Britain heads towards a general election.’
The poll comes as official figures out yesterday show more than 23,000 migrants have crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year.
In just three days from last Friday to Sunday, 1,034 were rescued in 18 dinghies and taken to Dover, bringing the total to 23,103. The number for the first ten days of this month was 3,002 in the hot spell.
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