A SHOCK new survey shows the British public is furious about the migration crisis engulfing the UK.
The GB News People’s Poll shows for the first time just how upset voters across the country are by the growing numbers of people crossing the Channel.
It comes just days after Home Secretary Suella Braverman said England was facing an "invasion" of illegal migrants.The staggering results, which also reveal the Tories are languishing 26 points behind Labour on just 16 per cent, pile pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to get a grip on the dramatic events on the south coast.
Almost 40,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far this year - compared to 28,526 in the whole of 2021.
The staggering results pile pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to get a grip on the dramatic events on the south coast.
Victoria Jones
The GB News People's Poll interviewed 1,212 people online and was weighted to be fully representative of the entire British population.
We asked whether voters thought people who arrive unlawfully in the UK by small boats from a safe country, such as France, should be granted a right to settle in the UK.
The poll also examined whether Albanians should be required to leave the country and return directly to Albania - a safe country itself - and which political leader people trust to sort out the scandal.
Almost 40,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far this year - compared to 28,526 in the whole of 2021.
Gareth Fuller
The results, which Nigel Farage analysed in detail with Politics Professor Matthew Goodwin, also shows views among key groups Rishi Sunak will need to win back if he is to have a chance at the next general election are damning for the Tories and the new Prime Minister.
Mrs Braverman sparked a furious reaction on Monday when she was accused of using "inflammatory language" by refugee charities and Labour MPs to describe the Channel crisis.
But others, including many Tory MPs and GB News viewers, praised her for finally being honest and open about the vast scale of the challenge facing Border Force officers.
Downing Street did not comment on whether Mr Sunak agreed with the use of the term "invasion".
His official spokesman said: "The Home Secretary was seeking to express the sheer scale of the challenge that faces the country, with people, including a significant proportion of economic migrants, seeking to make this journey."
58% of the country think “The British government has lost control of the country’s borders”, according to new and exclusive polling by People Polling for GB News. This jumps to an even higher 75% among Conservative and 76% among Leavers. Only 14% of the country disagree the country has lost control of its borders.
- Amid a spiralling crisis in the Channel, we also find: more than half the country (53%) REJECT the suggestion “European courts and judges in Strasbourg should be able to override decisions about Britain’s borders that are made in Britain”. This jumps to 79% among Conservative voters and 78% among Leavers, the key groups Rishi Sunak will need to win back if he is to have a chance at the next general election.
- A large majority of voters, 61%, think Albanians should be required to leave the country and return to Albania while only 13% of the country think they should be allowed to stay. 84% of Conservatives and 85% of Leavers think they should be required to leave Britain and return to Albania.
- We also asked whether people who arrive unlawfully in the UK by a small boat from a safe country, such as France, should be granted a right to settle in the UK. Almost half the country, 49%, agree with this rising to 74% of Conservatives and 74% of Leavers but falling to 30% of Labour voters and 31% of Remainers. The proportion who agree, at 49%, is larger than the proportion who disagree, at 25%.
- We also asked voters which political leader “would best manage the issue of the small boats crossing the Channel?” While the most popular answer was “none of the above”, the most popular individual leader was Nigel Farage followed by Keir Starmer and then Rishi Sunak. 28% of Conservatives backed Farage while only 8% backed Sunak.
* PeoplePolling, a member of the British Polling Council (BPC), carried out the GB News People's Poll online on November 1, 2022.
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