Positive shift on immigration attitude in British public opinion: Study

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) – Around half of people surveyed in the UK now see immigration positively about its economic and cultural impacts, a new report revealed on Wednesday.

According to a study by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a progressive British think tank, positive change in attitudes towards immigration began before Brexit and has continued since.

"Around half of voters now rate the economic and cultural impacts of immigration positively, up from around one-third of voters just under a decade ago," said the report titled "A new consensus? How public opinion has warmed to immigration."

The research also showed that the perception change is "broad based" and not simply confined to certain demographic groups, as in this year, for the first time ever recorded, a majority of British voters with an opinion on the matter said they thought immigration levels should stay the same or increase.

Citing the think tank British Future's study in 2012, aftermath of the global financial crisis, which found that public opinion saw immigration as driving factors of damage to economic recovery, the report stressed that now a substantial majority of respondents saw immigrants' skills and labor as helping economic recovery a decade later.

"Voters in the first half of 2022 were instead focused on inflation, COVID-19, and a lack of faith in politicians – three issues which had barely registered just a few years ago," said the research, comparing with the time when immigration was the "biggest issue" on voters' agenda during time when the Brexit referendum was taking place.

Citing the European Social Survey, it said that compared with other countries surveyed, the UK recorded the largest increase in positive views about economic impacts and the third-largest positive shift in views about cultural impacts.

"The UK is one of only four countries in the study to see double digit positive shifts in both economic and cultural perceptions – the others being Ireland, Portugal, and Spain," it added.

- Possible impact of 'pro-immigration stance'

The report also gave details about how perception of Conservative and Labour supporters towards migration changed.

A large majority of Labour supporters express positive views on immigration in the most recent waves, which is a huge increase from 2014, when less than half expressed positive views, according to the British Election Study.

Conservative supporters became more positive about immigration in the years immediately after Brexit, said the report, however it noted that the change has since reversed.

"The rapid shift among Labour's support base has therefore resulted in a steadily widening gap between a now strongly pro-migration Labour electorate and a persistently more sceptical Conservative electorate."

From this perspective, the report said the liberal shift in public opinion is also evident among the swing voters most likely to switch between parties.

"This now means that a pro-immigration stance can be an electoral asset for Labour and has a broadly neutral electoral impact for the Conservatives," it added.