Perceptions and Reality: Ten Things We Should Know About Attitudes to Immigration in the UK

Abstract

Perceptions and reality: Ten things we should know about attitudes to immigration in the UK blogs.lse.ac.uk /politicsandpolicy/perceptions-and-reality-ten-things-we-should-know-about-attitudes-toimmigration-in-the-uk/ Looking at the data on attitudes towards immigration, Bobby Duffy highlights ten significant findings. The data shows deep concern about immigration in general across large parts of the population, while also clearly indicating more nuance in specific views.

Adapting chain referral methods to sample new migrants

“…We can surmise that newly arrived Poles in London may have had fewer trusted others to refer, or may have felt more threatened in the period of recession in which we sampled, in contrast to those sampled at the height of Polish migration in other studies. In addition, our actual survey period coincided with an increase in a particularly negative anti-immigrant discourse (Duffy andFrere-Smith 2014), which, unlike, for example, in Ireland (McGinnity et al 2013), was particularly focused on Eastern European immigrants.…”

“…Though public attitudes in the UK generally favour reducing immigration, surveys repeatedly show that Londoners are much more positive (Duffy and Frere-Smith 2014). The UK has some of the most robust anti-discrimination legislation in Europe, and findings from the 2008 EU-Minorities and Discrimination Survey showed Eastern European migrants in the UK are less exposed to discrimination, assault, and harassment, compared to the EU average among selected minority/migrant groups (EU Agency for Fundamental Rights 2009).…”

Perceived neighborhood ethnic diversity and social outcomes: Context-dependent effects within a postindustrial city undergoing regeneration

“…Compared with other European and North American countries, “people in Britain are more likely … to see immigration as a problem rather than an opportunity, and to view the immigrant population as already too large” (Blinder, 2015, p. 6). In addition, survey evidence from the UK has shown that the public overestimates the number of family migrants and asylum seekers in the UK, the latter by a factor of between three and ten (Duffy & Freere-Smith, 2014). …”

“…The importance of both perceptions and reality is illustrated by survey evidence for the UK, which shows that concern about immigration is generally higher in areas with the lowest numbers of immigrants. The exception to this is that areas where asylum seekers are settled show the highest levels of concern (Duffy, 2014), and these areas are more likely to be disadvantaged neighborhoods. More broadly, the “material context” and “struggles over resources” in disadvantaged neighborhoods are potentially more likely to result in tensions and conflicts between new migrants and existing residents, even if this exists alongside convivial relations (Kesten, Cochrane, Mohan, & Neal, 2011; Robinson & Walshaw, 2012).…”

Embedded Integration and Organisational Change in Housing Providers in the UK

“…The subject of migration, with a particular focus on refugees and asylum seekers, is rarely out of the public eye, with sustained media attention and public polls showing that migration is one of the key concerns of the British public (Duffy and Frere-Smith, 2014). The UK government has resolutely pursued a strategy of restrictionism, successfully limiting the right to asylum by introducing a range of measures including stricter border controls and a reduction of social benefits (Law, 2009).…”