Poll shows more back refugees in sanctuary fight
PEOPLE in Yorkshire are more than twice as likely to support offering sanctuary in the UK to those seeking refugee status than disagree with the idea, new polling has revealed.
A survey of 2,000 people in the region, seen by The Yorkshire Post, shows that residents are broadly supportive of giving refugees and asylum seekers opportunities for integration and inclusion.
The poll by Migration Yorkshire suggests that city centres may be especially welcoming and that young people in particular are supportive of allowing those who have sought sanctuary to stay in the UK after fleeing conflict or persecution.
It comes amid reports that Home Secretary Priti Patel is to hit back at people smugglers by helping asylum seekers fleeing war zones with safe passage to the UK.
The Sun newspaper reported she will lay out plans next week to introduce “new legal pathways to try to stem the tide of illegal crossings over the Channel”, in a move which will “rip up parts of the Modern Slavery Act” that are “exploited by criminals”.
Migration Yorkshire, which works with councils on migration issues, carried out the polling late last year amid fears that Brexit and Covid-19 could mean the capacity
of some communities to welcome new arrivals may be tested.
But policy and research officer Kate James said: “The poll results show that Yorkshire people are more likely than not to support offering refugees safety and protection, and see their local communities as places of welcome.
“Although there is a range of views, we can see support for integration, including learning English and working, which is good for the individuals and good for society.
“With the Government considering new immigration policies, we hope this approach reflects the views of the people here to provide a Yorkshire welcome that benefits us all.”
Britain’s EU-divorce will not change the UK being a signatory of the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees. Under the convention, signatories cannot return a refugee to a country where his or her freedom is under threat.
In December 2020, the latest period for which figures are available, 5,647 asylum seekers in Yorkshire and the Humber were receiving so-called Section 95 support given to those whose claims have not yet been settled. Of those, 1,079 were from Iraq, 670 from Iran, 394 from Albania, 357 from Pakistan and 249 from El Salvador. Nationwide, about half of all asylum seekers are granted refugee status.
When asked whether the UK should continue to offer protection to those seeking sanctuary as refugees, after the end of the Brexit transition period, 49 per cent of the region’s residents said they agreed and 25 per cent said they disagreed.
When asked to read an extract from a newspaper article about an asylum seeker spending Christmas in a hotel, 47 per cent of people said they felt sympathetic, compared with 37 per cent who did not.