The British public’s view on immigration is even more negative than it was in the wake of the 2016 Brexit referendum to leave the European Union and take back control of the nation’s borders.
A YouGov survey, conducted as a follow-up to an identical poll in August of 2016, has found that a plurality of Britons now see immigration as being “mostly bad” for the UK at 43 per cent, compared with 33 per cent a decade ago. In contrast, just 21 per cent said this month that immigration has been mostly good, while 29 per cent said that it has been “both good and bad” for the country.
Meanwhile, the percentage of the public who believe that immigration has been too high over the past decade has remained relatively stable, with 70 per cent agreeing in 2016 and 69 per cent in 2026. However, currently 47 per cent of British voters say that immigration levels have been “much too high”, compared to 44 per cent ten years ago.
The pollster noted that a majority of both voters who supported Brexit and a majority of those who voted to remain within the European Union believe that immigration levels have been too high. Yet, there was still a significant disparity of proportion, with just 53 per cent of Remainers saying immigration has been too high, compared to 93 per cent of Leave voters.
When broken down into party affiliation from the most recent general election in 2024, supporters of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party were the most likely to see immigration levels as too high at 98 per cent, followed by 90 per cent of Conservative Party voters. Majorities were still seen among the left-wing Labour Party at 53 per cent and the Liberal Democrats at 56 per cent, but not among far-left Green Party voters, only 40 per cent of whom agreed with the sentiment.
The survey found that not all immigration is viewed the same way by Britons, with some groups being favoured over others, and those from Anglosphere nations being looked upon most favourably, with Ireland at 69 per cent and both Australia and Canada at 68 per cent approval.
This was followed by other first-world nations, which were largely seen as welcome, such as Sweden at 64 per cent, Germany at 62 per cent, Japan at 58 per cent, the U.S. at 55 per cent, and Poland at 53 per cent.
In contrast, the British public said that 58 per cent want fewer or no immigrants from Russia, 52 per cent from Pakistan, and 48 per cent from Nigeria.
In terms of qualifications for prospective migrants, criminal history was by far seen as the most critical by the British public, with 94 per cent of British adults agreeing with the statement that a history of violent or otherwise major crimes should be taken into account when deciding if an economic migrant should be allowed into the country.
This was followed by the level of a prospective migrant’s education at 76 per cent, if they already have a job lined up again at 76 per cent, and if they intend on also bringing their family to the UK at 73 per cent. Other factors which should be taken into consideration, according to the public, are the migrant’s wealth (60 per cent), age (56 per cent), and IQ (54 per cent).
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