Monday, June 10, 2019

Migrant worries mellows

Where once immigration was seen as the biggest problem for the UK, a negative force on national life, now it barely registers on the list of voter concerns, with polls suggesting increasing numbers believe it has had a positive impact on Britain.

In April, a regular Ipsos Mori survey found immigration was a concern for 11% of people - the lowest level since 2001.

While in March, an earlier Ipsos Mori poll for BBC Crossing Divides found that British adults expressing positive views about immigration's impact outnumbered those with negative views.

Emilia Koziol-Wisniewski, one of the first Polish workers to come to the UK after EU expansion 15 years ago, the 2016 referendum result was a low point. Since the Brexit referendum campaign, she says, she has experienced abuse and racism.
"The comments were just vile, 'Deport them', 'Get rid of them'," Emilia tells me. "I think the Brexit referendum empowered people to say certain things...On the one hand, after the referendum, we had people who would be nasty in their comments. And then we would have people who would come to us and say, 'It's not in my name. I do apologise on behalf of my nation. I welcome you here,' " says Emilia.
As the arrivals of the past 15 years have integrated, so general concerns about immigration have subsided.

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