Majority of Britons want to see an increase in the number of EU doctors and nurses coming to the UK post-Brexit

A new Ipsos study on behalf of IMIX, shows that:

• Since last summer there has been an increase in the proportion of people saying they want to see more doctors and nurses from the EU coming to the UK; 54% say they want the number of doctors coming from the EU to be increased (up from 47%) while 53% want the number of nurses increased (up from 49%).  The research was carried out online among Britons aged 18-75, from 12 March – 3 April 2020.  A third (36%) also want the number of care home workers to increase (marginally up from 32%) while two in five (40%) want the number to stay the same.
• Maintaining the positive shift we have seen over the last few years, half of Britons (48%) now say the impact of migration on Britain is positive while 27% say negative and 17% are not sure.
• At the same time, half (52%) want to see immigration numbers reduced overall, although slightly fewer say they want to see numbers decreased a lot (down from 30% last year to 26% now).   Just one in ten (9%) want numbers increased and a third (32%) want them to stay the same.
• Overall half of Britons (51%) think the number of migrants coming to the UK from the EU will reduce now that Britain has left the EU, while 27% think the numbers will remain the same and 8% think they will increase.
• However, people are split when it comes to thinking about non-EU migrants; a quarter (23%) think the number will increase while the same proportion (23%) think they will decrease (two in five 39% think numbers will stay the same).

Kully Kaur-Ballagan, Research Director, Ipsos said:

Over the last few years we have seen that people are becoming less worried and more positive about immigration in Britain and this latest study confirms this.  And while people believe that immigration from the EU will fall now that Britain has left the EU, there is increasing public support for numbers to increase in healthcare including doctors, nurses and care home workers – all of whom who have been essential in helping to respond to the pandemic.

Technical Note

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 2,1000 online adults aged 18-75yrs across Great Britain between 12 March – 3 April 2020
• Data are weighted to reflect the population profile.
• The survey was conducted on behalf of IMIX, the migration communications hub with funding from Unbound Philanthropy and the Barrow Cadbury Trust.
• Percentage scores are shown out of 100%. Where figures do not add up to 100%, this is due to computer rounding. An asterisk indicates a score less than 0.5%, but greater than zero.
• Combined figures are based on the constituent parts (e.g. % agree = % strongly agree + % tend to agree). These figures are also subject to the effect of rounding.