Majority of Tory voters want a halt on all immigration other than that essential to NHS
THREE quarters of Tory voters want a halt on all immigration other than that essential to the NHS.
And more than eight in ten want the overall rate of net migration reduced to the tens of thousands, according to the Centre for Migration Control survey for a report to be published on Tuesday.
Net migration was 685,000 in the year to December 2023, a ten per cent fall from 764,000 a year earlier.
Legal Migration minister Tom Pursglove said net migration fell by ten per cent last year.
He added: “Only Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives have a clear plan to take bold action to bring down migration levels by 300,000 and ensure managed migration flows.”
The survey of 2,191 Brits was conducted on Wednesday by British Polling Council member PeoplePolling.
Earlier in the month the Tories revealed migration is to blame for almost 90 per cent of housing shortfalls.
The influx is piling pressure on public services — but especially on housing, said MPs Robert Jenrick and Neil O’Brien.
Their report argues that in the past ten years, more than 3.44million homes should have been built to cope with 2.25million in demand and 1.19million for net migration.
But 2.11million homes were built, a deficit of 1.34million — 89 per cent of which would be needed just to house all migrants, it says.
The MPs write: “To think that we can add people at current rates and solve the housing crisis is absolute magical thinking.”
Former Immigration Minister Mr Jenrick and former Levelling Up Minister Mr O’Brien say migrants have not generated decent growth.
The report with the Centre for Policy Studies also attacks the Government for letting net migration balloon past 3.7million since 2010.
They say: “That is the populations of Edinburgh, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Stoke, Bristol and Cardiff put together, or more than the population of Wales.”