FILE PHOTO: In this drone view an inflatable dinghy carrying migrants makes its way towards England in the English Channel, Britain, August 6, 2024. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) - Immigration tops the list of issues that Britons consider most important for the first time since 2016 - when Britain voted to leave the European Union - following riots this month targeting Muslims and migrants, pollster Ipsos said on Friday.
Just over a third of Britons (34%) named immigration as the biggest issue, ahead of healthcare, on 30%, the economy on 29%, crime on 25% and inflation on 20%, the August edition of the monthly Ipsos Issues Index showed.
For 11% of those polled race relations was the top issue.
Net migration to Britain - the difference between people moving to the country and those leaving - hit a record high in 2022 of 764,000. It fell slightly to 685,000 the following year.
The public's concerns about immigration have increased in the aftermath of the rioting in many towns and cities this month in which anti-immigration demonstrators targeted hotels housing asylum-seekers and mosques, the pollster said.
"The impact of the recent riots across the UK is clear in this month's data...the level of concern about crime and race relations has also surged to recent highs," Ipsos researcher Mike Clemence said.
The unrest abated after a number of those involved were arrested and offenders swiftly jailed. Many people also took part in anti-racism rallies.
The Ipsos poll mirrors another released by YouGov last week, which also showed immigration topping the list of most important national issues for the first time since 2016, when concerns about immigration were a major driver of Britain's vote to leave the European Union that year.
Ipsos polled 1,010 adults from Aug. 7-13 while YouGov surveyed 2,163 adults from Aug. 5-6.
(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar, Editing by Paul Sandle and Angus MacSwan)
