Tories see poll boost with Conservative voters over migration policy

Rishi Sunak’s plan to ban people arriving over the English channel in small boats from making asylum claims has improved the Conservative Party’s standing with its voters on immigration matters, a poll found.

The government last week revealed the Illegal Migration Bill, which would see small boat migrants detained and deported without the UK considering whether they were fit to be granted asylum.

While the proposal was met with backlash from the EU, along with Tories including former home secretary Amber Rudd, Conservative voters polled in the days after its introduction to parliament last Tuesday appeared to be satisfied.

Trust in Tory asylum policy shot up among those who voted for the party in 2019, swinging from 27 per cent last month to 41 per cent in a poll taken by Ipsos Mori between Wednesday and Friday.

Some 44 per cent said the government had the right immigration policies, up from 27 per cent last month.

In the wider public, 40 per cent said they trusted the Tories more than Labour to make it harder to enter Britain illegally, up 10 per cent on last month.

Polling for The Independent found support among the wider public for the small boats plan was at 42 per cent, with 25 per cent opposed.

The research show that 1 in 3 Britons (32 per cent) think the government will do a good job at passing laws to stop small boat crossings, up from 23 per cent in January 2023.

More than one-third believe it will do a bad job (36 per cent), down from 44 per cent at the start of the year.

The Ipsos poll results were published on Saturday after a row emerged over top football presenter Gary Lineker’s criticism of the new policy on Thursday – which drew condemnation from right-wingers for invoking the holocaust. It was unclear whether the Match of the Day host’s comments influenced results.

Despite the recent focus on immigration, Ipsos found that other issues – particularly around the cost of living and the NHS – remain higher up the British public’s priority list.