Transatlantic Trends Survey: Britons Opposed to Immigration?

A recent Transatlantic Trends survey conducted in the United States, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy has found that Britons are the most anxious nation when it comes to immigrants.

The survey was commissioned by the German Marshall Fund (GMF) in the US, and the results are considered by GMF President Craig Kennedy as a “wake-up” call for governments.

According to Kennedy the survey shows that both North Americans and Europeans have very strong opinions about immigration policies; what works, and what doesn’t, with the Brits in particular having a lot to say about the government’s immigration policies.

  • According to the research 59% of Britons believed there were “too many” immigrants in the UK.
  • Compared to 10% or less in other countries surveyed, 23% of British people thought immigration was their country’s biggest problem; this despite the fact that 5 of the other nations partaking in the poll had a larger proportion of immigrants than the UK.
  • Around 25% of UK respondents don’t believe legal migrants to the UK should be allowed access to the NHS or state schools, and a large number feel that immigrants take jobs from native-born workers.
  • 70% of people in the UK said the UK government was doing a poor job managing immigration.
  • Immigration Minister Damian Green is quoted as having said he was not surprised that people are sceptical “after a decade of uncontrolled immigration” under the Labour government.

>> Find more transatlantic trends information here.