Public attitudes towards immigration are becoming more positive despite record high levels of arrivals, a think tank has said. Net migration to the UK reached 504,000 people last year, the highest figure since records began in the 1960s, as the world opened up after the pandemic.
But despite rising numbers, a study by the UK In A Changing Europe (Ukice) think tank published today (March 9) found public opinion is much more positive on immigration than previously.
Professor Jonathan Portes, senior fellow at Ukice, said: “The biggest shake-up in UK immigration policy for half a century coincides with a sustained shift in public attitudes in a more positive direction, with a broad consensus that the system should meet the needs of the economy and labour market.”
