Britons are more worried about immigration than ever before
Britons are more worried about immigration than ever before, as the migrant crisis in Calais continues to worsen.
Immigration and the state of the NHS are the two political issues that UK adults worry most about, according to new figures from Ipsos Mori released today.
Half of those polled replied that immigration was one of the most important issues facing Britain, an increase of nine percentage points since last month and the highest figure Ipsos Mori has recorded.
Among Conservative voters, the percentage concerned about immigration shoots up further, with two thirds of Tories worried about the issue. Labour voters are less concerned, but two fifths still cite it as an “important issue”. The poll also found that older people are far more likely than young adults to see immigration as an important issue.
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There are also big geographic differences: Londoners care least about immigration, with just 29 per cent of those surveyed in the capital worrying, compared to over half in the Midlands.
Ipsos Mori’s Bobby Duffy attributes the growing concern to a “constant media attention” in the wake of the Calais crisis:
We have never seen concern about immigration this high, and when one single issue reaches 50 per cent it tends to signify that the public perceive that is something which needs to be addressed urgently.