The continued focus on immigration and the UK’s future within the European Union has apparently arisen due to the popularity of the UK Independence Party. UKIP has cemented the issue of migration from EU countries to Britain firmly into their political rhetoric.
“The fact that we have a relatively popular TV programme spending peak time television hours going into the subject is an indication of the fact that the debate is being taken seriously and the public is indeed not quite sure where Britain’s future lies so far as the European Union is concerned”, according to Professor John Curtice of the British Polling Council.
“What’s clear from the poll in some ways is that we’re saying there’s down sides to leaving the EU in that the UK would have less influence”, says Professor Curtice, “but what concerns us is the level of migration. It’s a very clear thing above all, is that migration has been bad for the UK and Europe.”
In the instance of an in – out referendum, which British Prime Minister David Cameron has promised if the Conservatives win next year’s general election, more Britons would choose to leave the European Union than choose to stay in it. The ‘People’s Poll’ by the Tonight Programme revealed that more than half, 55% think the United Kingdom would do well outside the EU; 42% would vote to leave the EU.
The sharpening of focus on the issue of EU migration is according to Professor Curtice, one of hardest subjects to negotiate with other member states.
“The Prime Minister has focussed on the issues of migration, but one of the most difficult things to change about the EU is the principal of the freedom of movement and one most of the EU countries would be reluctant to let go of”.
The focus on immigration and the future of the UK within the European Union is because of the rise of UKIP, says Curtice, “The rise of UKIP, the Conservative party in part promising an in-out referendum by 2017, to win next year’s General Election are the forces that mean the future of the UK inside the European Union is being questioned more fiercely than it was in the last referendum back in 1975; those are the political forces.”
This poll has shown the UK to be mildly Eurosceptic, a little bit more likely to vote yes to EU than no, which according to Curtice is broadly in line with the message of polling.
“Ironically, public opinion is more evenly balanced now than was the case a couple of years ago, as a result of the rise of UKIP, and politicians being critical of the EU and British Prime Minister David Cameron offering the prospect that we might be able to renegotiate a position in Europe”.
The future of Britain’s relationship with Europe and the impact of migration on that relationship has become a key election issue, likely to dominate debates, polls and each party’s political rhetoric in the run up to the general election next May.
