A new paper argues that both parties should champion migration
Fresh off the back of today’s news that UK net migration rose to an eye-popping record 504,000 in the past year, there are some who are making the argument that Britain’s main parties should pivot to championing a pro-immigration stance to win votes. According to a new report entitled ‘A new consensus? How public opinion has warmed to immigration,’ public opinion has drifted in favour of immigration over the past years.
Drawing on the British Social Attitudes Survey (BSA)/Ipsos-Mori Tracker, they show that the proportion of Britons who think immigration levels should stay the same or increase has risen from about 22% in 2013 to 54% in 2022, on a steadily rising trajectory. In the British Election Study (BES), the share who say immigrants have made a positive contribution to the economy and the culture of Britain has risen from under 35% in 2014 to over 50% today.
The conclusion: Keir Starmer should pipe down about British workers and Rishi Sunak should trumpet a generous immigration intake based on ‘rules-based openness’ to capitalise on the newly compassionate public mood.
Continue reading the entire piece here at UnHerd
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Eric Kaufmann is professor of politics at Birkbeck College, University of London and an adjunct fellow of the Manhattan Institute.
This piece originally appeared in UnHerd