UK politics: Worries about immigration are ‘manufactured panic’ says charity as poll shows issue not a local concern – as it happened

UK politics: Worries about immigration are ‘manufactured panic’ says charity as poll shows issue not a local concern – as it happened


Concern about immigration ‘manufactured panic’, says charity, after poll suggests its importance exaggerated by media

Concern about immigration is a “manufactured panic”, a campaign group has said after polling suggested only a quarter of people think it is an important issue locally.

As PA Media reports, a YouGov poll found only 26% of people said immigration and asylum was one of the three most important issues facing their community. This was half the 52% who said it was one of the biggest issues facing the country as a whole.

These figures have been set out in a report published by the Best of Britain campaign group. It also shows that, while immigration comes second in the list of issues that people say matter nationally, it is only seventh in the list when people are asked about what matters in the places where they live.

UK politics: Worries about immigration are ‘manufactured panic’ says charity as poll shows issue not a local concern – as it happened
Polling on issues that matter – nationally and locally Photograph: Best for Britain

Best for Britain’s Tom Brufatto said:

The data clearly demonstrates that media exposure and political discourse are fanning the flames of anti-immigration sentiment in the UK, causing the government to lose support both to its right and left flank simultaneously.

Measures designed to tackle the cost of living, such as undoing the economic damage caused by Brexit through closer trading relations with the EU, will instead draw support from across the political spectrum.

And Saeema Syeda of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants said the polling confirmed “there is no immigration crisis”. She went on:

It’s a manufactured panic, pushed by some politicians and parts of the media to distract from what actually matters to people.

Across our communities, we share the same priorities – making ends meet, accessing healthcare, decent schools and secure homes. We need to end scapegoating and look for solutions.

This chart shows what happens when people are asked what they think are the most important issues facing the question – a question where their responses are likely to be shaped by what the media are saying.

Polling on most important issue facing UK
Polling on most important issues facing UK Photograph: Best for Britain

And this chart shows what happens when people are asked about the most important issues facing them and their communities – a question where real-life experience is likely to count much more.

Polling on most important issues facing people and their communities
Polling on most important issues facing people and their communities Photograph: Best for Britain
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Key events

Afternoon summary

  • Concern about immigration is a “manufactured panic”, a campaign group has said after polling suggested only a quarter of people think it is an important issue locally. (See 11.16am.)

  • John Swinney should spend more time on domestic issues than seeking a deal with the US on Scotch whisky, Douglas Alexander, the Scottish secretary has said. As PA Media reports, the first minister has pushed hard for an exemption to tariffs imposed by the US administration of Donald Trump, meeting the president four times this year. But, speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, Alexander said:

I’m very happy for the first minister to be supporting the British government’s efforts on tariffs, but that’s all that he’s doing …

Respectfully, many of us here in Scotland wish the first minister was spending more time avoiding the underspend of £1bn as we discovered last night, or the state of our schools and hospitals.

But there’s a second point beyond the legal requirement that this is a competence of the UK government – Donald Trump doesn’t give gifts, he does deals. The only counter-party in those negotiations that can do a deal is the UK government.

For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.

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