A recent YouGov poll has uncovered a substantial majority of Britons favoring a tougher stance against France to address illegal migrant crossings in the English Channel.
The survey found that 41 percent of British respondents believe their government must take a more firm approach with France to curb the flow of migrants. This figure represents a plurality, significantly higher than the 35 percent who support strengthening bilateral ties with France.
The results come amid concerns over Britain’s “one-in, one-out” policy, which requires that for every illegal migrant returned to France, one legal migrant from France is admitted. However, recent data shows this approach has faltered: in the past month, 1,117 migrants were admitted to the UK while only 1,087 illegal migrants were removed.
The poll also revealed that 79 percent of supporters of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party — which has advocated for military operations to return boat migrants to France — believe the government should adopt a harder line. Sixty-seven percent of people supporting Olukemi “Kemi” Badenoch’s nominally center-right Conservative Party said the same. In contrast, only 24 percent of Labour voters and 24 percent of Liberal Democrats supporters favor taking a tougher stance.
Critically, despite Britain’s investment of hundreds of millions of pounds to France in efforts to stop Channel crossings, interception numbers have declined.
