Do Britons want less immigration?
Public opinion is more mixed than many people realise.
Written by Noah Carl.
My previous piece argued that protests and rioting in Britain do not show “the English” have “had enough” of immigration – contrary to what many on the right have been claiming. In response, several people posted the chart below, which plots YouGov’s measure of opposition to immigration from 2019 to 2024. The specific question asked is, “Generally speaking, do you think the level of immigration into Britain over the last ten years has been too high, too low or about right?” As you can see, a large majority of respondents (66% in the latest survey) say that immigration has been “too high”.
The argument of the people who posted the chart was something like: "whatever else may be true, there is clearly an overwhelming consensus for less immigration into Britain”. Note: I had acknowledged in the article that “polling suggests most Britons do want immigration reduced”. My claim was that since they had voted overwhelmingly for pro-migration parties at the recent election, they must care more about issues like the cost of living, housing and the NHS. I’d also noted that the polling data are more complicated than many conservatives realise.
So what do the polling data show about attitudes to immigration in Britain?
