Almost Half Of Brits Are Getting An Essential Fact About UK Immigration Wrong
As researchers at YouGov found, there is a 'simple misconception' around the scale and nature of British immigration.
Of the 8,055 UK adults approached for the poll, 47% said they believe there's more illegal immigration rather than legal – including 32% who said the illegal figure is 'much higher'.
The trouble is the number of undocumented people who arrive into the UK via so-called illegal means, like crossing the English Channel in a small boat, is actually dwarfed by the number of arrive legally.
According to the Home Office, there were 44,125 irregular arrivals in the year to March, 86% of whom arrived on small boats.
That works out to be just 4% of the 948,000 overall number who immigrated to the UK during the same period.
YouGov also found that among the respondents who support mass deportations, 93% were in favour of removing small boat migrants – but that number dropped to 44% when asked about migrants who come to the UK legally looking for work.
That proportion declined further to just 26% of respondents when asked about their support for deporting foreign students.
This suggests the confusion around immigration could be pivotal to addressing anti-immigration sentiment, especially as hostile protests have been springing up around English hotels believed to be housing asylum seekers this summer.
However, YouGov's head of data journalist Matthew Smith said clearing up perceptions of UK immigration may not necessarily reduce the negativity spreading across the country at the moment.
He said: 'While it is clear that legal migration dramatically outweighs illegal migration, that is not to say that if only the public could be made aware of this fact then immigration would disappear as an issue.
'After all, Britons tend to think that legal immigration has been too high as well, and the concerns that many people have extend beyond the economic terms in which immigration is typically justified.
'Anyone seeking to address the issue will need to engage with deeper anxieties about identity, integration, and the perceived erosion of shared national values.'
Keir Starmer has unrolled a new pilot scheme with France whereby 'illegal' immigrants who come to the UK on small boats could be returned to the other side of the English Channel.
The UK will need to accept one migrant through legal means in exchange, but the government has still hailed the deal as a 'groundbreaking' development in the ongoing bid to stop people-smuggling gangs.
Despite Labour's promises to crack down on the people-smuggling gangs, 2025 has also become a record-breaking year for Channel crossings, with more than 25,436 arrivals so far this year – an increase of 51% compared to this point last year.
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