One in four would take a pay cut to curb migration: Poll reveals EU population movement is voters’ priority

David Goodhart

Head of Demography, Immigration & Integration

The Daily Mail reports on Policy Exchange’s new poll on Brexit and attitudes towards immigration. Check back later this week for a full roundup of the results from David Goodhart, Policy Exchange’s head of Demography, Immigration and Integration.

“The survey – for the Policy Exchange think-tank – shows that 26 per cent of the British public are prepared to be hit in the pocket if it means bringing down the record numbers of EU migrants. This is the equivalent of around eight million of the 33.6million people who voted in the EU referendum.

Some 11 per cent of all respondents would be willing to pay as much as five per cent of their annual income to cut European migration to zero – the equivalent of £1350 a year for someone earning an average wage in the UK. For those who voted leave on June 23, the figure rises to 20 per cent of respondents.

Fewer than four in ten (38 per cent) of the 1,660 surveyed said they would rather pay nothing and maintain the current levels of EU immigration.

Overall, immigration and the economy were equally the two most concerning issues for voters, at 21 per cent.

In a paper for Policy Exchange, immigration expert David Goodhart said: ‘Maintaining the status quo when it comes to freedom of movement is clearly not an option with a significant number of people saying they would make real sacrifices to reduce European migration to zero.”

Read the full article on The Daily Mail.

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