Poorest more worried about migration than jobs, crime or education
THE poorest families are more worried about immigration than finding jobs or the impact of crime, a major study found.
It said immigration ranks as high among the concerns of people on the lowest incomes as housing or the need to care for their families.
And while money difficulties top the list of worries for the least well off, seven out of ten low income people said they believed they could help themselves out of financial trouble.
However when it came to immigration low income families said they felt powerless, with only one in ten of those with worries about the issue believing they can do anything at all to control numbers coming into the country.
The concerns are detailed in a report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and based on findings from the British Social Attitudes survey.
It said those on low incomes believe their taxes are too high; most do not want politicians to soak the rich to give greater support to the poor; and Labour is just as likely to attract support from the rich as from the poor. The findings, taken from nearly 3,000 people questioned for the Social Attitudes project, and others interviewed by YouGov, showed that more than a third of people among the 40 per cent of lowest income households say they are living comfortably on their incomes.
Among those on the very lowest incomes – around £150 a week or just over – only 31 per cent said they were struggling to get by. Asked to point to their chief concerns, 45 per cent said money or debt and 38 per cent said health. However 30 per cent were worried about immigration, the same proportion that were worried about housing or caring for someone.
Fewer, 28 per cent, were worried about work or finding a job, and 24 per cent were concerned about their own or their family’s education. There were 23 per cent who said they were worried about crime and 18 per cent about their mental health.
Middle income people were most worried about immigration, with 38 per cent registering their concern. Those on the highest incomes were least concerned, with 26 per cent worried about immigration.
Two out of three in low income homes thought it was the Government’s job to reduce the gap between rich and poor.
But fewer than half – 47 per cent – of those even in the bottom fifth for incomes thought the Government should help by redistributing the income of the well-off in their direction.