The vast majority of the public believe that Britain has not regained control of its borders since Brexit, according to a new Observer poll that suggests that most do not think leaving the EU has improved the UK’s ability to manage immigration.
According to the latest Opinium poll, 73% think the UK has not been in control of its borders since Brexit. Only 12% think Britain has been in control. Meanwhile, only 9% of the public believe Brexit has made Britain’s ability to manage its borders better, while 45% think it has made it worse.
Those who backed Brexit are also taking a dim view. Only 7% of leave voters think the UK is in control of its borders since Brexit, while 85% think it is not.
The poll comes as the government is facing a crisis over its management of asylum seekers and refugees crossing the Channel to reach the UK. The Home Office is already facing legal action over the conditions in its Manston processing centre for people arriving in the country by small boat, where there have been reports of overcrowding, the spread of infectious diseases and poor sanitation.
The scandal appears to have had a serious impact on public opinion, with only 7% of respondents thinking that the government is in control of the situation in the English Channel. More than four-fifths (82%) think the government is not in control, with some 88% of 2019 Conservative voters agreeing.
It means that Labour now has an eight-point lead over the Tories on the issue of immigration. Home secretary Suella Braverman is already under serious pressure, having quit the role just weeks ago after admitting she breached ministerial rules by sharing sensitive material.
Most voters (55%) think immigration to the UK is currently too high, while 22% think it is about right and 8% think it is too low. The vast majority of people who voted Conservative at the last election, 78%, think immigration is too high.
Overall, Labour has extended its poll lead since last week by two points, and now has an 18-point advantage. Rishi Sunak has seen some of the polls bounce he enjoyed last week dissipate. His approval ratings have slipped into negative territory, with 29% approving of him and 31% disapproving – giving him a net approval rating of -2 overall. Keir Starmer’s overall approval rating is +8, with 36% approving and 28% disapproving of the job he is doing.
Starmer has also retaken the lead in terms of who voters see as the best prime minister. When asked to choose between them, 28% chose Sunak (-3 from last week) and 30% chose Starmer (+3).
The majority of voters (60%) think the home office plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda will not work. Meanwhile, 45% of the public disapprove of the way Braverman is handling her job, while only 14% approve. The majority (52%) think the re-appointment of Braverman as home secretary by Sunak was a bad decision.
Immigration has gained ground in terms of which areas the public see as most important, but the three most salient issues remain health, energy and the economy. Ahead of what risks being a crisis-ridden winter for the service, the majority of respondents (59%) thought health and the NHS were the most important issues facing the country, followed by energy and power (53%) and the economy (50%). Immigration came fourth, but has increased significantly to 24% since last week.
Adam Drummond, head of political and social research at Opinium said: “It’s been a difficult week for the new prime minister. The situation in the English Channel will have reminded Rishi Sunak that he needs to have solutions across a whole range of policy issues beyond just steadying the economy.
“Unless the government gives the impression it is in control of the situation they risk trapping themselves in the worst of all worlds: alienating pro-immigration voters with the home secretary’s rhetoric, while those who are more likely to agree with Suella Braverman simply feel like the government is unable to deliver on their priorities.”
Opinium polled 2,000 people online between 2-4 November.
