Immigration numbers and the media

According to YouGov, ‘Immigration and Asylum’ was the second most important issue facing the country in May, just behind the economy. According to IPSOS immigration/immigrants was the most important issue, rising well above the economy. Concern about immigration began rising at about the same time as net immigration into the UK started increasing dramatically, to nearly a million a year in 2023. Yet net immigration fell as rapidly as it rose, and at the end of 2025 was at levels typical of the period before the post-pandemic increase. So why is public concern about immigration still so high? The straightforward reason is that most of the public don’t know that net immigration has fallen dramatically. According to recent polling conducted on behalf of British Future and the Policy Institute at Kings College London, only 16% of people think net immigration fell over the last year, while around half thought it had increased. It shouldn’t be surprising that most people have little idea…