Brits lose faith in Labour over immigration
Despite the government taking a stronger stance on immigration in recent months, the majority of people in the UK believe Labour is failing to handle the issue properly.
This is according to new polling data from YouGov, which surveyed more than 8,000 Britons over the course of May and early June on whether they thought Labour was doing a relatively good job in government.
Polls showed that most Britons believe the government is doing badly across a range of key issues, including on the economy, NHS, and especially on immigration.
74% of Brits said the government are handling the matter of immigration badly, including a majority (52%) saying they are handling the issue very badly. Only 14% of respondents gave Labour a positive review on the way it is handling immigration.
According to the poll, around seven in ten Britons (69-71%) see the economy and the NHS as being handled badly by the Labour government, with just one in five (19-21%) thinking the government has handled the issues well.
In fact, in every area except for its handling of terrorism and defence, more than half of those surveyed thought the government was doing poorly.
This exception for terrorism and defence has proven historically true for previous governments, however, with the previous Conservative government actually seen as doing better on these issues than the current Labour government.
The approval rating of the government is also lower amongst women than it is amongst men, with women more likely to believe the government is doing badly on the NHS, economy, and inflation.
The chart below shows the government’s approval rating on key issues.
Labour’s immigration crackdown
This polling data follows recent announcements from the Labour government that it will crack down on immigration and impose further barriers on those willing to settle in the United Kingdom from abroad.
As part of the new rules announced in its Immigration White Paper, the government has proposed changing the wait time for acquiring settled status from five years to 10 years, requiring prospective residents to stay in the UK for twice as long before becoming settled and earning the right to remain.
The government also plans to impose stricter requirements on acquiring UK citizenship, including revisions to the various cultural and language tests involved.
Other major reforms include the raising of the Skilled Worker threshold to RQF 6 and the abolition of the immigration salary list.
The government will also end the overseas recruitment of social care workers, closing all social care visas to new applications.
