Who was surprised by the Mail’s immigration poll?

Was any one actually surprised by the splash on immigration in yesterday’s Daily Mail? Its poll (of 1,027 people by Harris/Daily Mail) suggests that nearly two thirds of people think that immigration since 2004 has not been good for British society; eight in ten think that 176,000 net immigration last year was too much; and nearly eight in ten think that the public has not been consulted adequately about the effect of immigration on the population. Actually given that the last question was framed thus: ‘Since 1997, immigration has added 2.5 million to the population. Has the public been adequately consulted about this change?’ it’s surprising that only 79 per cent agreed. Does anyone recall anything in the way of actual consultation on the subject between 1997 and 2010? Me neither. But then apart from Switzerland, where these things are put to the electorate in referendums – so not the British way! – there isn’t much of a mechanism to do it.