What Yorkshire folk think about migration - 2023 opinion poll
Find out what people in Yorkshire and Humber think about migration
This poll asked people across the region about a range of issues related to migration. Focaldata interviewed a representative sample of 2,550 adults aged 18+ who live in Yorkshire and Humber via an online survey between 29 August and 11 September 2023. The results have been weighted and are representative of all adults aged 18+ living in Yorkshire and Humber. The following tables group together answers, for example those that were generally positive or generally negative and so on, in order to provide an overview of the results. Percentages may not always total 100 due to rounding.
You can watch the summary in the video below, view the results on this page, or download our summary of opinion poll results (Excel file, 271 KB).
Questions and answers
Q1: On a scale of 0 to 10, has migration had a positive or negative impact on Britain? (0 is 'very negative', 10 is 'very positive')
| Positive | 40% |
| Negative | 38% |
| Neutral | 22% |
Q2: On a scale of 0 to 10, has migration had a positive or negative impact on your local community? (0 is 'very negative', 10 is 'very positive'.)
| Positive | 35% |
| Negative | 34% |
| Neutral | 30% |
Q3: Which of the following best describes your relationship with migrants in your local community?
| I often speak with migrants living in my local community, and they are part of my regular social circle. | 16% |
| I sometimes speak with migrants living in my local community, but they are not part of my regular social circle. | 37% |
| I rarely or never speak with migrants living in my local community, and have very few interactions with them | 28% |
| I am not aware of any migrants in my local community | 20% |
Q4: Have your views about migration changed in the last couple of years?
| Become more positive | 16% |
| Become more negative | 35% |
| Stayed about the same | 46% |
Q5: People migrate to the UK for a number of reasons. Please indicate if, generally speaking, you support or oppose each of these entry routes to the UK?
| Support | Oppose | Don't know | |
| Through government refugee/relocation schemes for specific nationalities (currently limited to Ukraine, Afghanistan and Hong Kong) | 60% | 22% | 18% |
| Claiming asylum in the UK (the only way to be accepted as a refugee for someone from a country other than Ukraine, Afghanistan and Hong Kong) | 42% | 38% | 20% |
| To work | 67% | 20% | 13% |
| To study | 71% | 16% | 13% |
| To join family members | 51% | 29% | 20% |
Q6: Some migrants are people who have fled their country due to war, violence, or persecution and asked the UK Government for international protection as a refugee. They are sent to live in different parts of the UK, including Yorkshire and the Humber. Which of the following comes closest to your view?
| Yorkshire and the Humber should host its fair share of the UK's refugees (that is, in proportion to its total population). | 54% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber should host more refugees than this. | 6% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber should host fewer refugees than this. | 30% |
| Don't know. | 11% |
Q7: In your opinion, how welcoming, if at all, do you think Yorkshire and Humber is to refugees and people seeking asylum?
| Welcoming | 57% |
| Not welcoming | 26% |
| Don't know | 17% |
Q8: One option for improving refugee integration in the UK is to provide support to help people settle, learn English, find employment, and access essential services. Which of the following comes closest to your view?
| Refugees should be required to accept integration support | 63% |
| Refugees should have a choice whether to accept integration support | 24% |
| Refugees should not be offered integration support | 13% |
Q9: Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, about 5,500 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Yorkshire and Humber and been accommodated by people offering a room in their home. Do you support the UK government’s decision to accept refugees from Ukraine?
| Support | 74% |
| Oppose | 14% |
| Don't know | 13% |
Q10: For each statement, please select whether it applies to you, or not. There are no right or wrong answers, just please be as honest as possible.
| Yes | No | Don't know | |
| ‘I would consider hosting a refugee fleeing war or persecution in my home for a minimum of 6 months, as part of a government refugee scheme.’ | 19% | 63% | 18% |
| ‘I would consider fostering a child refugee who has arrived alone in the UK seeking asylum.’ (Most unaccompanied child refugees are teenagers). | 21% | 61% | 18% |
| ‘I would like to support refugees in another way, if there is an opportunity to do so.’ | 47% | 28% | 25% |
| Note: 54% said that at least one of these statements applied to them. | |||
Background information
Migration Yorkshire commissioned this poll as part of Refugee Integration Yorkshire and Humber.
