1 in 4 would take a pay cut to curb migration
Poll reveals EU population movement is voters’ priority
DETERMINATION to slash EU immigration is so strong that millions of Britons would be prepared to suffer a salary cut in return, a new study reveals.
A poll found that, more than two months after the Brexit vote, immigration remains the public’s number one concern.
And more than a quarter of voters said they would even be willing to contribute some of their earnings to cut the numbers flooding in.
The findings by YouGov are a sharp rebuttal to the pro-immigration lobby, which has claimed that we must continue with mass immigration or face a fall in living standards caused by lower growth.
The survey – for the Policy Exchange think-tank – shows that 26 per cent of the British public are prepared to be hit in the pocket if it means bringing down the record numbers of EU migrants. This is the equivalent of around eight
‘Would make real sacrifices’
million of the 33.6million people who voted in the EU referendum.
Some 11 per cent of all respondents would be willing to pay as much as five per cent of their annual income to cut European migration to zero – the equivalent of £1350 a year for someone earning an average wage in the UK. For those who voted leave on June 23, the figure rises to 20 per cent of respondents.
Fewer than four in ten (38 per cent) of the 1,660 surveyed said they would rather pay nothing and maintain the current levels of EU immigration.
Overall, immigration and the economy were equally the two most concerning issues for voters, at 21 per cent.
In a paper for Policy Exchange, immigration expert David Goodhart said: ‘Maintaining the status quo when it comes to freedom of movement is clearly not an option with a significant number of people saying they would make real sacrifices to reduce European migration to zero.’
He added: ‘People think that permanent residence and citizenship should be earned over time, though living here for several years, speaking the language well, adopting at least some of the key norms of British society and in return such people should qualify for full social and political rights. One of the prob- lems with freedom of movement is that EU citizens qualify more or less on day one for almost all the rights of full citizenship and people feel this is unfair and belittles the significance of being a citizen of this country.’ In a separate report published today, campaign group MigrationWatch warns the Government not to strike any deal with Brussels on free movement in order to stay inside the single market. They said that any concession would have to be ‘so large that they would betray the democratic mandate for controlled and reduced immigration delivered by the British people in the referendum’.