Polling has shown that more than six times as many unionists as nationalists in Northern Ireland believe the current level of immigration is too high.
The poll, published this week and conducted by Lucid Talk for The Belfast Telegraph, shows that 82 per cent of unionists believe there are too many migrants coming to Northern Ireland, compared to just 13 per cent of nationalists.
Responses were gathered from some 3,443 people, who took part in the online poll from 16-19th August, with the sample scientifically weighted to reflect Northern Ireland’s population.
The polling shows that overall, some 41 per cent of people in the North agree that the current level of immigration into the province is too high. Meanwhile, 37 per cent of those surveyed said it was about right, while 11 per cent reported thinking it is too low.
Those most likely to say it is too high were TUV voters (89 per cent), followed by DUP supporters (88 per cent) and Ulster Unionist voters.
Just 14 per cent of Sinn Fein voters said they believed immigration was too high, followed by 10 per cent of Alliance supporters, and just 4 per cent of SDLP voters.
Alliance voters were the most likely to report believing that immigration into Northern Ireland is too low (17 per cent) followed by 15 per cent of Sinn Fein voters and 12 per cent of those who voted for the SDLP. A mere 1 per cent of DUP supporters agree immigration is too low – while none of the TUV and UUP voters who took part in the polling believe that to be the case.
57 per cent of Nationalists said that the North’s immigration level is “about right,” followed by 55 per cent of those who voted for Alliance. However, only 11 per cent of DUP voters agreed with that statement.
While half of working-class people believe immigration is too high, this compares to a third of middle-class voters.
Overall, men were more likely to report believing current immigration levels to be too high (47 per cent, compared to 35 per cent of women).
Asked by the newspaper whether they felt those arriving in Northern Ireland were “good or bad” for the economy and society, a majority of people (56 per cent) said they are good, whilst 26 per cent said ‘bad,’ and 11 per cent were neutral. 83 per cent of those in the nationalist community, and the same percentage of Alliance supporters, reported viewing immigration as a positive for society and for the economy – however this fell to 25 per cent for unionists.
SDLP voters were the most likely to see immigration as a positive force, with 92 per cent concurring, followed by Alliance (82 per cent) and 81 per cent of Sinn Fein voters.
42 per cent of UUP voters said they felt the same way – however this number fell when it came to DUP voters (18 per cent) and 8 per cent of TUV supporters.
Earlier this month, some 39 people were arrested in the North in connection with riots which spilled across Belfast in the wake of an anti-immigration demonstration at City Hall.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)’s Emma Little-Pengelly responded by saying that those involved in the disorder were “causing destruction to their own communities.”
The Deputy First Minister, who holds office alongside Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill, admitted that people had “very genuinely held” concerns relating to issues including public services and access to housing, adding: “Those are issues we need to address through government, through democratic means.”