The public is worried about high levels of immigration
10. The democratic deficit
60% of the public want lower levels of immigration but they are being ignored. Successive governments have broken their promises to reduce immigration. Enough is enough.
60% of the public want a reduction in immigration levels
Deltapoll finds that six in ten voters want a reduction in immigration levels.
Separately, Deltapoll found that the share saying that immigration had been too high over the past decade was a clear majority of 54%.
In addition, a 2019 YouGov-Cambridge Globalism poll found that 72% of respondents said that the benefits of immigration did not outweigh the costs.
Voters have been betrayed
In its 2019 election manifesto, the Conservative Party promised to deliver control over our borders and to reduce the overall level of immigration.
These pledges have been blatantly broken by record visa grants, and unprecedented levels of illegal immigration, for example by small boats.
A failure to deliver on these promises has undoubtedly contributed to public disillusionment and distrust on this topic.
Only 17% of the public thinks that the government tells the truth on the issue either all or most of the time. In August 2022, only 11% said that the government was handling immigration well (while a record 78% said it was handling immigration badly).
Only by delivering a major reduction in immigration can the government begin to remedy what has become a huge credibility gap. In a democracy, it is essential that public policy is responsive to the public’s wishes and that election promises are honoured.
