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Why the Tories’ hardline immigration policies won’t win over UK voters | Robert Ford
(www.theguardian.com)
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Last week saw the latest in a series of immigration reform packages, yet nearly a year on from Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats” his government seems no closer to a fix which satisfies his party or its supporters.
While last week’s restrictions may well reduce inflows, they principally target groups – students and skilled workers – who enjoy broad public support.
A large part of this change is structural – the demographic groups most favourable to migration, such as graduates and ethnic minorities, are growing, while the social conservatives most opposed to it are in decline.
The hardline approach does not work as an electoral dividing line, as when invited to compare the two parties’ proposals, voters heavily prefer the Labour offer.
The endlessly repeated and never-delivered promise to “stop the boats” has thus provided Reform UK with the perfect stick to beat the government in the coming campaign.
The voters who will back Labour next year already agree that open migration policies, properly managed, can be a vital ingredient in rebuilding public services and delivering economic growth.
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