Immigration has not been handled this badly since Brexit, public believe
The public are more unhappy with the Government over immigration than at any point since the Brexit referendum, according to a poll.
More than two-thirds of respondents said they were dissatisfied against just 9 per cent who said they were happy with the handling of the crisis.
The figures come from a tracker poll of 3,000 adults by Ipsos and think tank British Future, and are the worst negative rating since it was first conducted in 2015, the year before the Brexit vote.
Only 16 per cent of current Conservative supporters – and just eight per cent of those who voted Conservative in 2019 – are satisfied with the performance on immigration.
More than half (55 per cent) of current Tories and more than two thirds (71 per cent) of 2019 Tory voters are dissatisfied. Some 10 per cent of Labour supporters said they were satisfied, while 72 were not.
The main reason for their dissatisfaction is the failure to stop the Channel small boat crossings, cited by 54 per cent of those who were unhappy with the Government’s general handling of the situation. This was closely followed by concerns that overall immigration was too high, cited by 51 per cent.
Immigration is rated as more critical to deciding their vote for Conservative than Labour, with 53 per cent of the potential Tory electorate saying it was important. That made it the third most important issue after the NHS (57 per cent) and cost of living (55 per cent). For Labour voters it ranked 12th with 27 per cent citing it.
There has also been an increase in the proportion of voters wanting a reduction in migration to 52 per cent, up from 48 per cent in 2023. It follows net migration hitting a record high of 745,000 in 2022, nearly treble pre-Brexit levels.
Seven in 10 current Conservative supporters (72 per cent) want immigration reduced (17 per cent want it to stay the same and nine per cent want it to increase).
But most Labour supporters preferred immigration numbers to either remain the same (32 per cent) or increase (20 per cent), although 40 per cent wanted reductions.
Only 32 per cent of the public believed the Rwanda scheme was likely to reduce the number of people trying to enter the UK without permission to seek asylum, while 56 per cent thought it was unlikely to do so. However, some 47 per cent supported the scheme compared with 29 who opposed it.
Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, said: “There is widespread public dissatisfaction with the Government’s handling of immigration, but for different reasons. Many Conservatives want tougher action to match tough words, while Labour supporters want more compassion alongside control.
“There’s a gulf in how much immigration matters to how people will vote in the coming election. For Conservatives it’s the number three issue after the NHS and cost of living; for Labour supporters it doesn’t make the Top Ten. That makes for very different pressures on the two party leaders in the coming campaign.”
