Polling shows that by a 2:1 majority, people in this country prefer the pre-Brexit immigration system we had before 2020 to the current one. It seems we now ruefully look back to when immigration was running at 2-300,000 a year and men like Nigel Farage stood in front of posters proclaiming Britain was at “breaking point”. At the same time, the prime minister kept going on television insisting he could get it down to the “tens of thousands.” Last year saw net migration (incomers less leavers) into this country hit 431,000, well DOWN on the 906,000 seen in 2023. Most of our hugely increased immigration since Brexit has been non-EU; last year, EU migration was actually negative.
The recent survey work has been done by More In Common on behalf of Politico, and you can read the report HERE. What emerges is a nation of people who frequently seem unaware of what’s going on around them, what government policy is and why they voted to leave the EU.
At least a significant number (40%) have sufficient self-knowledge to admit they don’t know. But of the remainder, 41% say they would prefer “Britain’s immigration policy as it was before leaving the EU” versus just 19% who want “Britain’s current immigration policy, implemented since leaving the EU.” This is the one dreamed up under the previous Brexit-backing Conservatives.
Split by party affiliation, the Greens are the most keen on turning the clock back, with 60% preferring the old system versus 16% the current one. Labour and the Lib Dems aren’t far behind, with 46% and 49% harking back to those pre-Brexit days respectively.
But, and here's the surprise, even Reform UK supporters don't like the current arrangements, with 37% backing the pre-Brexit approach and just 21% thinking the current system better. It's not close, even among what you would consider diehard Eurosceptics.
However, what you need to remember is the almost total ignorance of most people about the immigration issue and official government policy. Politico also asked voters what immigration systems they liked and disliked. The most popular was an “Australian-style points-based immigration system,” with a net 46% support. The least popular was “Britain’s current immigration policy,” with -39% support.
And here's the problem. Britain's current system IS literally an Australian points-based system!!!!!
You can only despair at how little immigration is understood after ten years of it being centre stage in this country,
The Politico article claims that this doesn't "necessarily mean voters are desperate for a return to EU-style freedom of movement." This is according to Sophie Stowers, a research manager at More in Common. I may be quite a simple person, but I think, neglecting the word 'desperate', this is literally what the poll means.
An associate director at the IPPR think tank, Marley Morris, said the results appear to reflect “nostalgia from the public for our pre-Brexit immigration model,” but added it would be “rash to assume this means there is public appetite for a return to free movement of people.”
Errr.. No, I think it shows exactly that, and with some firm messaging from the government, it would be clearer still. I am not convinced Britain is ready for another untested experiment in trying to satisfy he racist element in this country, which is what we would have if free movement weren't on offer.
The government’s new border chief, Martin Hewitt, seems just as disappointed with Brexit as the rest of us. During a select committee hearing, he was asked if there were any examples where Brexit has helped the UK “control our borders, helped you do your job, or helped us reduce the issue of undocumented migrants.” Apparently, both he and Rob Jones, director general of the National Crime Agency, who was also giving evidence to the committee, couldn't come up with an answer even after thinking about it!
The report of this exchange is in The Independent, which also says that since Brexit “the number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats has not decreased.” The reporter clearly doesn’t know that pre-2018, there were no immigrants in small boats crossing the Channel at all.
The ‘taking back control’ slogan looks ever more ridiculous. Brexit was a massively expensive and disruptive experiment that went terribly wrong. When you consider that cutting immigration was a cornerstone of Leave.EU's entire campaign in 2016, you can see how the entire Brexit edifice is now in danger of collapse.
What an utter debacle it has been.
