Rishi Sunak’s pet theory that voters are relaxed about the level of legal immigration – so long as the government is in charge of it – and only really care about illegal immigration has just collapsed.
New polling from YouGov shows that among 2019 Conservative voters, concern about immigration and asylum is now running nip and tuck with the state of the economy as their number one political issue (61 per cent include the economy and 60 per cent immigration when asked to name the top three issues).
A vague undertaking from the Prime Minister about reducing immigration from the astronomical levels he has inherited isn’t going to cut the mustard
The NHS lags far behind in third place, mentioned by 43 per cent. Concern about immigration among Tory voters is on a sharply upward trend and threatens to reach highs last seen in late 2015 and 2016 in the run-up to the EU referendum.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in