Immigration now tops the list of most important national issues for the first time since 2016
Following the recent Southport stabbings and subsequent rioting, concern about crime and immigration have shot up in YouGov’s most important issues tracker.
Our latest survey, conducted on 5-6 August, finds that immigration is the most commonly chosen ‘top issue’ facing the country, with 51% picking it. This is a 10 point increase since our previous survey on 17-18 July.
This is the first time immigration has topped our list of issues since 2016, and the highest figure we have recorded for the issue since August of that year.
Fully 90% of Reform UK voters say immigration is a top issue facing the country, as do 76% of Tory voters. This makes it the top issue among both voting groups – although it had been prior to the Southport attacks in any case.
While far fewer Labour voters list immigration as a top issue, at 34%, this is nevertheless the highest level among this group since early 2017.
Concern about crime has grown at an even faster rate, with 39% now saying it is one of the top issues facing the country, a nineteen point increase since mid-July. This puts it in third place overall, and is the highest figure for crime since 2011 – the time of the last major national rioting.
Back then crime peaked at 48% on two back-to-back waves of the tracker – these are the only two times in the 13-year history of the tracker that belief crime is a top national issue has been higher than now.
Unlike immigration, concern about crime is similarly high across party lines. Around four in ten Labour, Conservative and Reform UK voters (39-42%) say crime is a top issue facing the country, falling to 33% among Lib Dem voters – it is either the second or third biggest issue for each voting group.
Given the previous data preceded the Southport stabbings, it is unfortunately impossible to unpick how much of the recent shift is because of the stabbings, and how much are as a result of the week-long rioting since then.
The economy is currently the second most commonly cited top issue facing the country, with 44% of Britons picking it. This represents a nine-point reduction since mid-July, when it had been in first place. It remains the top issue for Labour and Lib Dem voters (51-55%), but comes third for Reform UK (28%) and Tory voters (41%), after immigration and crime.
Health, which had been in second place in mid-July, has since fallen to fourth place overall, seeing a 10pt reduction to 36%. It still sits in second place for Labour and Lib Dem voters (44-45%), but ranks fifth among Conservative and Reform UK voters (20-26%).
What do you think about the recent riots, the top issues facing the UK, and everything else? Have your say, join the YouGov panel, and get paid to share your thoughts. Sign up here.
Photo: Getty
