Nearly half of Britons support strict limits on immigration even if it harms economic growth, according to new polling by Ipsos. The survey found 48% of respondents agreed there “should be strict limits on immigration into Britain even if that harms growth”, while fewer than a third (32%) said “Britain should allow as much immigration as the economy needs to support growth”.
Environment takes priority over growth for many
The polling also shows that economic growth is not the absolute priority for many people across the country. Forty-four per cent of respondents said “more focus should be placed on protecting the environment, even if that harms economic growth”. Less than a quarter (24%) said the focus should be on growth, “even if that comes at the expense of protecting the environment”.
The findings come as Andy Burnham has launched Number 10 North to lead the Government’s growth strategy.
National economy favoured over regional focus
Britons are much more likely to favour efforts to grow the whole economy than attempts to boost the prosperity of individual UK nations and regions. The Ipsos polling found nearly half of respondents (47%) agreed that more attention should be devoted to growing the whole economy, while fewer than three in 10 (29%) said “more focus should be placed on improving the economy of specific regions and nations in the UK”.
Britons are divided on whether it is more important to boost national prosperity or redistribute wealth. While 37% said “growing the overall economy is more important than redistributing money between people”, 34% said redistribution should be the priority.
Public sees growth as positive overall
Alex Bogdan, research director at Ipsos, said: “Our new poll shows most Britons see economic growth as positive and the preference among the public is towards a focus on the national economy over regional development. With Number 10 North poised to take responsibility for economic growth and devolution strategy, the primary political challenge for Andy Burnham will not be convincing the public that growth matters, but how a focus on local and regional growth can benefit the wider economy.”
Overall, 59% of respondents said economic growth does more good than harm, while 13% thought it does more harm than good.
