The Extent to Which the British Public View Immigration as a Public Policy

Ranking importance of policy areas

To help gauge the extent to which immigration matters to the public, we asked participants in our research to rank twelve policy areas in order of importance. This exercise revealed that whilst unauthorised immigration figured as an important policy priority for the public, respondents typically ranked it behind other policy priorities.

The mean ranking for ‘stricter border controls to reduce unauthorised immigration’ placed it eleventh out of twelve policy options (with a mean ranking score of 7.35), behind other policies such as ‘reducing inflation’ (4.85), ‘investing more in healthcare’ (4.94), and ‘affordable housing’ (6.02) which were clear priorities for the public (figure 3.1.1). Only ‘tackling climate change and protecting the environment’ received a lower mean ranking (7.45) from the twelve policy areas.

However, on closer examination, it becomes clear that beneath this view for the public as a whole, the importance of reducing unauthorised immigration was a high priority for a sizeable number of respondents, with age and political affiliation the key dividing lines. Just over a fifth (22%) of respondents ranked this policy area as one of the three most important (10% as the most important). On the other hand, 38% of respondents ranked this policy area as one of the three least important, and one in five (20%) as the least important, highlighting a polarisation in policy priorities among our respondents.

Breakdown of findings for ‘Stricter border controls to reduce unauthorized immigration’ policy area

One such group for whom this issue appears to be a higher priority are older respondents. Our research found that older people tend to be more concerned about unauthorised immigration compared to their younger counterparts. For example, only 15% of those aged 18-34 ranked ‘reducing unauthorised immigration’ as one of their top three most important policies, compared to 20% of those aged 35-54, and 30% of those aged 55+.

The subjective importance of reducing unauthorised immigration also varies considerably depending on people’s political affiliations. Of those who said they voted Conservative in the 2019 General Election, 44% ranked ‘stricter border controls to reduce unauthorised immigration’ as one of their top three most important policy areas, compared to just 11% of those who said they voted Labour, and 12% of those who said they voted Liberal Democrat (figure 3.2.1).

The referendum on EU membership is still a noteworthy dividing line on this issue, with 40% of those who said they voted ‘Leave’ ranking this policy area as one of their top three most important, compared to 12% of those who said they voted ‘Remain’, and 19% of those who did not vote.

There are also overlaps between voting behaviour in the 2019 election and 2016 EU referendum. For example, 49% of those who said they had voted Conservative voted to ‘Leave’, compared to only 13% of those who said they voted Labour.

Ranking of policy area compared to favourable/unfavourable opinion of immigration

When it comes to unauthorised immigration, people’s policy priorities appear to be closely related to their attitudes: respondents who considered ‘reducing unauthorised immigration’ to be an important policy also tended to view immigration more negatively overall (figure 3.3.1). In our research, 80% of those who ranked ‘stricter border controls to reduce unauthorised immigration’ as one of their top three most important policy areas, believed that the number of immigrants coming to Britain should be reduced (with only 9% believing it should be increased).

Conversely, among respondents who ranked ‘stricter border controls to reduce unauthorised immigration’ as one of their three least important policy areas, 30% believed that the number of immigrants coming to Britain should be reduced (compared to 19% who believed it should be increased, and 51% selecting to choose ‘remain the same’ or ‘don’t know’).

Similarly, 63% of respondents who ranked ‘stricter border controls to reduce unauthorised immigration’ as one of their top three most important policy areas believed that immigration was a negative thing for Britain (compared to 11% who believed that immigration was positive). Among those who ranked ‘stricter border controls to reduce unauthorised immigration’ as one of their three least important policy areas, only 12% believed that immigration was a negative thing for Britain, compared to 49% who believed it was positive, and 39% who were either ‘neutral’ or ‘don’t know’).

Ranking of policy area compared to type of media consumption

Respondents in our research provided data on their news and media consumption, telling us ‘which kind of media they use most often for news nowadays’. Examination of media consumption data reveals an age divide between respondents who were more likely to mention traditional media such as printed newspapers, compared to using newer forms such as social media.

There is a correlation between news media consumption, which is largely driven by age, and respondents’ policy priorities. For example, 36% of those who said they used printed newspapers for their news ranked the ‘reduction of unauthorised immigration’ as one of their top three most important policy areas. In contrast, only 16% of those who most often use social media for news consumption ranked this policy area as one of their top three most important policy areas (figure 3.4.1).

Age however, rather than the type of media people rely on, could explain these differences. Older people, who our research finds have more negative attitudes towards immigration than younger people, are also more likely to consume traditional media. Whilst a quarter (25%) of those aged over 65 consume news via ‘newspapers’, fewer than 1 in 10 (4%) of those aged 18-24 do the same.

A respondent’s policy preferences and political ideology can determine the type of media outlets they consume on a regular basis, although media consumption can also exert an influence on policy prioritisation and attitudes. For example, of those who most often used printed newspapers or websites/apps of newspapers for news consumption, 32% of Daily Mail readers ranked ‘reducing unauthorised immigration’ as one of their top three most important policy areas. In comparison, only 8% of those who used The Guardian to get their news ranked this policy area as one of their top three most important.