Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, has today launched a new report entitled Understanding how Conservative voters think about immigration, examining how Conservative voters view the purpose of the immigration system, which types of immigrants they think should be let into the UK, the impact of immigration and their personal experience of immigrants. The report shows that those intending to vote Conservative at the 2015 General Election have distinct views on immigration compared to those intending to vote UKIP or Labour. The report has six main findings:
Conservative voters are more concerned with having a well-managed immigration system and admitting immigrants who will contribute to the UK than lowering the overall number of immigrants.
The most important policy relating to immigration for Conservatives is restricting migrants’ access to benefits.
Conservatives do not want to see a reduction in the number of ‘contributing’ immigrants to the UK.
Most Conservatives generally have a negative view of the overall impact of immigration, which contrasts with the positive views they have of their experiences with immigrants they know.
Certain socio-demographic characteristics make Conservatives consistently more likely to be positive about immigration in the UK, presenting the Conservative Party and the centre-right with a long-term choice about how it approaches immigration.
The centre-right encompasses a wide range of voters with differing views on immigration, and the Conservative Party faces a short-term choice about how it approaches immigration to win a General Election.