With the much anticipated ONS 2022 immigration stats arriving shortly, its time for a quick thread on where the public are on immigration drawing on my report last year with @MarleyAMorris and @IPPR . TL;DR – public is not where you might expect!

— Rob Ford (@robfordmancs) May 25, 2023

Views on imm levels do not track actual imm levels *at all*. Instead, the share saying imm levels should stay same or increase has been rising for a decade – and has now nearly doubled from around 25% in 2012 to just over 50% in 2022 (BSA &IPSOS-MORI data, DKs excluded)

— Rob Ford (@robfordmancs) May 25, 2023

The numbers have risen substantially in the last year, with the growing focus on "small boats" and now on overall numbers too, but so far this year an average of 17% of voters name it as a top issue – that's well under half the typical level pre-Brexit

— Rob Ford (@robfordmancs) May 25, 2023