|  | | Monday, 17 November | | | Britons back Labour immigration crackdown, but still see the party as pro-immigration | | | | Home secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced a radical overhaul of the UK’s asylum and immigration systems, looking to be seen as taking a hard line against illegal immigrants and refugees. | |
| | One key proposal is stopping the issuing of visas to people from countries who do not agree to return deals for illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers, with Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Namibia set to be first in line. | |
| | Such a policy is popular with the public, with 63% of Britons supporting a visa ban, while just 15% are opposed. | |
| | Support is highest among Reform UK voters (91%) and Conservatives (85%), but 58-59% of Labour and Lib Dem voters also back the proposals. | |
| | | | | | | | The government has also proposed requiring refugees who have been granted asylum in the UK to leave once their home country has been deemed to be safe. | |
| | Again, Britons tend to side with the government’s proposals, with 51% believing that successful refugees should only be allowed to remain while their country is unsafe, compared to 29% who feel genuine refugees should be allowed to settle permanently in the UK. | |
| | 71% of Reform UK and Conservative voters feel refuge should only be granted on a temporary basis, while Labour voters are near evenly split on the question 43% to 42%. | |
| | | | | | | | But while the public might support some of Labour’s proposed tougher immigration and asylum rules in isolation, Britons still tend to see Labour as a pro-immigration party by a margin of 47% to 28%. | |
| | Notably, those with more restrictive views on immigration are more likely to say is Labour a pro-immigration party, with 59% of those who believe refugees should be sent home when their country is safe seeing it as such. This contrasts with those who feel they should be allowed to settle permanently seeing Labour as anti-immigration by 49% to 34%. | |
| | Labour voters themselves are divided 39% to 38% over whether Labour are pro- or anti-immigration. This contrasts with 80% of Reform UK voters and 65% of Conservatives seeing them as pro-immigration, while 55% of Green voters see them as anti-immigration. | |
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