Trinh Tu, Managing Director of Public Affairs at Ipsos, recounts her family's arrival in Britain as Vietnamese refugees in 1979. They fled on a small boat, and she arrived without English or knowledge of British customs. She highlights the generosity of a teacher who helped her learn to read and a local family in Kent who supported them, with whom they still exchange Christmas cards.
Britain was emerging from an economic crisis, and Vietnamese refugees were dispersed across communities with little prior experience of newcomers. Tu experienced both kindness and playground taunts. Understanding was shaped locally, not through national debates.
Four decades later, Ipsos data shows that 73% of Britons agree that people fleeing war or persecution should find safety in the UK, yet 60% believe many asylum seekers are not genuine refugees. This apparent contradiction reveals that Britain has not abandoned the principle of refuge, but confidence in its application has weakened.
Ipsos data indicates a climate of economic pessimism, low institutional trust, and high concern about immigration. Asylum has become a test of whether systems are working. Public debate is shaped by images of small boats, asylum hotels, processing backlogs, and political disputes, contributing to perceptions of a system out of control.
ONS data shows net migration fell sharply to 171,000 in the year ending December 2025, down from 944,000 in 2023. Yet 49% of Britons still believe immigration is rising. Tu finds this sobering, as the debate has become detached from individual stories.
Part of the challenge is that refugees, asylum seekers, irregular migrants, and immigration are often discussed interchangeably. When distinctions blur, attitudes towards one group shape perceptions of others. Ipsos research shows Britons are more accepting of immigration when its purpose is clear and well managed, such as filling skills shortages in the NHS.
Among sceptics, common concerns include: 54% believe genuine refugees should remain in the first safe country they reach, 54% point to the predominance of young men among Channel arrivals, and 50% cite concerns about people having the financial means to make the journey. These perceptions shape how people judge the system.
The debate is often miscast as a choice between compassion and control. Most people want both. The public response to Ukraine illustrated this, with support for accepting refugees reaching 84%. Communities mobilised because they understood who was arriving, why, and how protection was provided.
The difference with Ukraine was not better messaging but a system that responded quickly and coherently. The lesson is that public support depends on confidence that the system is fair and functioning visibly. Tougher rhetoric or dismissing public concerns as prejudice will not restore that. What matters is timely decisions, consistent rules, and a process that makes sense.
Tu reflects on her childhood: when her family arrived, they were called ‘boat people’. Today, it is ‘small boats’. The language has changed little. Britain still believes in refuge, but support becomes fragile when confidence in the system delivering it is lost. The challenge is not persuading people to care but restoring confidence that the asylum system is fair, comprehensible, and working as intended.
