Migration views ‘more nuanced’
BRITONS BACK FOREIGN WORKERS TO FILL JOB GAPS
AN INCREASE in immigration to address labour shortages in the UK would be backed by the British public, according to research carried out by Ipsos on behalf of the think-tank British Future.
The findings reflect the gradual warming of public attitudes to immigration since the run-up to the EU referendum.
More people feel immigration has had a positive effect on Britain (46 per cent) than a negative one (29 per cent), the survey showed.
By comparison, in 2015, only 35 per cent were positive while 41 per cent were negative.
More than twice as many people surveyed said they would increase rather than decrease migration for people coming to work as seasonal fruit and vegetable pickers, care workers, doctors and nurses.
The research also showed more than half the public want more doctors and nurses from overseas; 45 per cent want more fruit-pickers and 44 per cent more care workers. Fewer than one in five support reducing immigration for any of these roles.
In addition, a third of the public support increased immigration to fill staff shortages in hospitality (34 per cent) and construction (32 per cent), with a further third preferring to keep immigration levels for these jobs as they are now. Fewer than a quarter of people would support reducing immigration for construction labourers (21 per cent) and restaurant and catering staff (23 per cent).
Migration to study at UK universities, which home secretary Suella Braverman last week suggested she would like to reduce, is also popular with the public at current levels.
Around one in five (21 per cent) would reduce international student numbers, while two-thirds would prefer numbers to stay the same (42 per cent) or increase (25 per cent). Only 29 per cent of Tory supporters support reducing student migration.
The director of British Future, Sunder Katwala, said, “Liz Truss and Suella Braverman have pragmatic permission from the public to welcome more overseas workers to fill labour and skills gaps and help economic growth. That’s because overall numbers matter less to the public now – their priority is that immigration is controlled, rather than reduced.
“They inherit a less heated immigration debate as a legacy of Boris Johnson’s ‘control not reduce’ approach. This asserted UK control over migration policy by ending free movement, but allowed immigration for work and study to increase.”
Support for reducing immigration remains at its lowest level since British Future began tracking public attitudes to immigration in 2015.
Four in 10 people (42 per cent) would prefer immigration to be reduced, 26 per cent want it to stay the same and 24 per cent would back an increase.
Gideon Skinner, the research director at Ipsos, said, “Public attitudes remain more nuanced on immigration than people might expect. For example, while there is little demand for increases in immigration, there is support for allowing more workers across sectors where the public sees a need, while dissatisfaction with the number of channel crossings is combined with sympathy for the refugees.
“This regular tracking research helps us understand these views and how they are changing – as well as highlighting misperceptions among the public themselves. In particular, most people think their fellow citizens have become more negative towards immigration over the last few years, but in reality, attitudes have become more positive since before the Brexit referendum.”