Brits say ‘UK immigration is positive’ after Queen’s Jubilee

In the aftermath of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Britons have declared UK immigration to be a ‘positive’ thing. According to a new report charting the last 10 years – since the Queen’s last Jubilee in 2012 – Britons have seemingly ‘changed their views’ on immigration.

According to research by British Future – a UK-based thinktank and registered charity – attitudes in Britain towards immigrants have shifted significantly between the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and Platinum Jubilee. The report found that while ‘immigration still matters, fewer people now view it as a negative thing for the UK’.

The recent British Future report provides a detailed insight on the public’s views on issues such as Brexit, 10 years of Tory rule, UK immigration, the coronavirus pandemic, the monarchy and British identity.

UK immigration cause of division 

The UK immigration debate has long been a cause of division across the country, especially because it was seen as one of the most important factors in Britain’s exit from the European Union.

Titled ‘Jubilee Britain’, the report said: “While concerns that migrants take jobs from British workers were widespread in 2012, these have subsided over the years: only a third now see migration as having a negative impact on jobs, compared to two-thirds in 2012. A quarter sees its impact as positive.”

The biggest shift in attitudes toward immigrants seemingly came at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when Britons took notice of the significant role that foreign workers played in the UK’s healthcare system.

One aspect of the data compiled by British Future showed that 46% of the British public today believe immigration to be a positive thing, compared to 2015 when 41% believed immigration to the UK to be a negative thing.

Labour shortages

Labour shortages, largely attributed to Brexit, have also sparked a shift in attitudes, with many Brits now seeing the value of immigrants to the British economy. 

Commenting on the data, The Grocer and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the total workforce of the hospitality sector is trying to cope with serious staff shortages.

The British Future report states that: “The pandemic caused many European workers to return home, while post-Brexit immigration changes removed the rights of many EU workers to freely live and work in the UK. And Brits haven’t yet stepped up in sufficient numbers to fill the gaps.”

Meanwhile, a recent report published by The Financial Times claims that the most recent food sector to be hit by labour shortages is the cucumber and sweet pepper harvest. It’s claimed that the shortages will result in a 50 to 60% drop of these harvests across Britain in 2022.

30,000 seasonal worker visas

The farming industry has been urging the UK government to allocate a further 30,000 UK visas for seasonal workers.

The labour shortages have been further compounded by soaring fuel prices, and the fact that Ukrainian workers are unable to pick crops due to the conflict with Russia – but this is largely because those fleeing Ukraine for the UK are largely considered refugees rather than immigrants.

Earlier this year, a report published by YouGov revealed that Brits are broadly of the opinion that the Tory government is not doing enough to help those fleeing Ukraine and heading for the UK. A report published by The Guardian recently supports this view, with Britain taking in fewer Ukrainians per capita than most of Europe.

Migrant welcoming programme

Elsewhere in the British Future report, under the heading ‘New era of welcoming’, data shows that 54% of the British public support the idea of the government creating a ‘migrant welcoming programme’ that connects British people with newly arrived migrants to help them integrate and settle in the UK.

This data extends to the report showing that 13 million British adults would like to help improve someone’s English, while a further 11 million people said they would be happy to get involved in support groups to help migrants settle into life in the UK.

According to the report, the older generation who historically were most concerned about immigration to the UK are now more worried about climate change and the planet that their grandchildren will inherit.

Controlling immigration

Despite a seemingly more positive outlook on immigration among the British public, many others across the UK and in Westminster are furious with the Johnson government for failing to deliver on its Brexit promise of controlling immigration to the UK.

Recently released ONS statistics revealed that while the number of EU nationals coming to the UK to work has declined, the number of non-EU nationals arriving in Britain has soared, with more than one million welcomed into Britain to live – the highest ever figure in recent history.

Director of the Centre for International Migration at the ONS, Jay Lindop, said: “The 12 months to June 2021 was a period when migration behaviour was impacted by the restrictions imposed to manage the coronavirus pandemic as well as ongoing changes in migration policy following Brexit.”

“Bringing together the best sources of data we have available, our latest estimates of net migration suggest that around 239,000 more people came to the UK than left, driven by non-EU immigration,” Lindop added.

According to the ONS, the number of UK visas granted to workers, students, family, relatives and other foreign nationals had increased by 35 percent to 994,951 in the year to March 2022, up from a pre-pandemic high of 739,936.

The figures prompted more than 24 Tory MPs to write to Home Secretary, Priti Patel, accusing the government of catastrophic Brexit failures and questioning why a Brexit promise to ‘take back control of the country’s borders’ had not been met.

Workpermit.com can help with Sponsor Licences

If you need help with employing Skilled Workers and help to apply for a Sponsor Licence, including complying with your Sponsor Licence obligations, workpermit.com can help.

For more information and advice on Sponsor licences, please contact us on 0344 991 9222 or at london@workpermit.com(link sends e-mail)