A new poll has revealed that more than two-thirds of Brits believe immigration has ‘divided’ communities.
The poll, carried out by y Demos on behalf of Sky News, found that 71 per cent of people polled thought immigration had been divisive in areas that have seen migrants arrive. The figure rose to 78 per cent for people living in multicultural communities.
Just over half of respondents did not believe that the British Government is doing enough to promote traditional British values.
What’s more, almost half of those polled believed that ‘British values’ should be favoured over multiculturalism. This rose to 76 per cent among those who voted Leave in the EU referendum.
In contrast just over a third of citizens felt ‘welcoming different cultures’ was more important.
A high percentage of respondents (63 per cent), also felt that life in Britain was better in years gone by, and the same amount think Britain’s status on the world stage has declined since their youth.
However, the findings from this survey are slightly contradicted by findings from another recent survey, which suggests that Brits have actually become more positive about immigration since Brexit.
That survey, carried out by Ipsos MORI, saw 44 per cent of respondents say that immigration’s impact on the UK has been positive. This is a jump from 2015 when just over 30 per cent of people surveyed said the same thing,
The polling firm points to two reasons for the shift. Firstly, 39 per cent of respondents say that the Brexit vote has since highlighted the contribution immigrants make to the UK, while 41 per cent are more positive because they feel more reassured that immigration has or will come down.
The survey, which was conducted in 25 countries, found Britain to be the third most-positive country about the impact of immigration.
Article published 5th June 2018