Only 37% of Britons interviewed by the YouGov-Cambridge Globalism survey were of the opinion that the costs of immigration outweigh the benefits. Of the rest, 28% felt that the benefits outweigh the costs, 20% thought the costs and benefits were equal and 16% answered that they were not sure. These figures were revealed by the Guardian last Thursday 2nd of January as the news outlet partners with the YouGov-Cambridge survey on Globalism.
Of the European countries surveyed by the YouGov-Cambridge were also France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Denmark and Poland. The second European country surveyed that was most open to immigration is Germany where 24% of the people surveyed felt that the benefits of immigration outweigh the costs and 40% were of the opinion that costs of immigration outweigh the benefits. Third, are the French where 21% of the people surveyed felt that immigration has a positive effect on the country and 42% felt that the costs of immigration outweigh the benefits.
Of the people the least open to immigration were the Italians and the Swedes where 50% and 49% of the people surveyed respectively believed that the immigration had a negative impact. Poland, on the other hand, were also very open to immigration.
However, the British are very restrictive to the type of immigration they are likely to support. Indeed, the survey shows that Britons particularly supported expatriates arriving in the country already holding a job offer whether they were skilled or unskilled. Indeed, 41% of Britons surveyed thought they would have a positive impact on the country. On the other hand, only 14% were of the opinion that those arriving without a job offer would be good for Britain.
The YouGov Cambridge Globalism Survey is an initiative from YouGov and the University of Cambridge which aims to uncover attitudes towards globalisation, populism and a range of subjects in 23 of the world's biggest countries. The news outlet, The Guardian, has also partnered with the two institutions and will be releasing figures from analysis as they come.
