Most millennials not opposed to immigration 

Findings from Next Steps have revealed that the majority of your generation believe immigration is positive for the British economy, with a third reporting the number of immigrants should increase.  

What we asked you 

When we survey you, we always want to find out what’s going on in your lives and what may have changed since we last caught up with you. But we’re also keen to understand how you feel about different topical issues. This helps to build a fuller picture of your generation’s experiences.  

In the Age 32 Survey, we asked you two questions to get your views on immigration. First, we asked whether you think the number of immigrants coming to Britain should be reduced, stay the same or increase. Second, we asked you to rate, on a scale from 0 (extremely bad) to 10 (extremely good), how you feel immigration affects Britain’s economy. 

What the researchers found 

Researchers from UCL found that most of your generation (55%) saw immigration as positive for the British economy, with more than a third (38%) saying it is ‘good’ and almost a fifth (17%) ‘extremely good’. 

Less than a fifth (19%) believed immigration has a negative effect on the economy, with 13% saying it is ‘bad’ and 6% ‘extremely bad’. A quarter of people (26%) held a neutral opinion. 

More than two-thirds of study members (68%) said that immigration does not need to be curbed. Around a third (34%) said the number should remain the same, a fifth (22%) believed it should increase and an additional 12% thought it should increase significantly. Less than a third (32%) believed immigration should be reduced a little or a lot. 

Your attitudes to immigration tended to vary by education level and employment status. Those of you in education or in work at the time of the survey tended to view immigration more positively than those who were unemployed. University graduates were also more likely to see immigration as a good thing compared to non-graduates.    

Do political views make a difference? 

The researchers found that your generation’s views on immigration were linked to your voting choices. Those who voted to remain in the European Union in the 2016 referendum were generally more positive about immigration than those who didn’t vote or who voted to leave the EU. Similarly, those who said they voted for parties other than the Conservative Party in the December 2019 General Election, and those who didn’t vote at all, tended to have more favourable attitudes to immigration. 

Why this research matters 

The information you’ve shared highlights mainly positive attitudes to immigration among your generation, at a time when the topic was regularly making headlines.  The findings suggest that media reports don’t necessarily reflect public opinion. Gathering and analysing data on topics like this can give a sense of different views across society, which can in turn help guide public policy and initiatives.  

Read the full research report 

Attitudes to immigration: initial findings from Next Steps at Age 32 by Michaela Sedovic, was published by the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies.