Nearly half of UK public supports immigration halt, poll shows

NEARLY half of Britons support stopping immigration and deporting many recent arrivals, according to a YouGov poll.

The survey found that 45 per cent back “admitting no more new migrants and requiring large numbers of migrants who came to the UK in recent years to leave.” This view is held by 86 per cent of Reform UK voters and 27 per cent each of Labour and Liberal Democrat voters, reported The Times.

Matthew Smith, head of data journalism at YouGov, said much of the hostility towards immigration is based on a “simple misconception” of its scale and nature. The poll shows 47 per cent believe immigration is mostly illegal, while a third think illegal entries are “much higher” than legal ones.

Home Office data shows 44,125 irregular arrivals in the year to March, accounting for 4 per cent of the 948,000 total immigration. Most (86 per cent) arrived on small boats. Estimates place the illegal migrant population between 600,000 and 1.2 million, The Times reported.

Supporters of mass deportations largely target small boat migrants, benefit claimants and unskilled workers without visas. Only 39 per cent back deporting asylum seekers who came legally, 44 per cent target legal work migrants, and 26 per cent foreign students.