MORI POLL SHOWS FEW TRUST ETHNIC DIVERSITY
(19 January 2004)

A MORI poll, conducted for Prospect Magazine, has shown that nearly 40% of people in Britain would prefer to live in an area where people are from the same ethnic background as themselves. The poll has also shown that Immigration/Asylum is now the third most important issue facing Britain today, ahead of defence, crime/law and order and the economy. Only the NHS and education are seen as more pressing.

"This is a remarkable rise in concern over the past few years which cannot be ignored, even if it is an uncomfortable trend. It also cannot be dismissed as the result of media hype - but equally it is important to realise that people do have an enormously inflated view of the scale of the issue" stated Bobby Duffy of MORI. "As a nation we think 23% of the British population are first-generation immigrants, when in fact the figure is 6%."

The increasing diversity of our population has been held up as a possible cause of the decline in levels of trust in each other reported in surveys in recent years. Research from America in particular has shown that those living in highly diverse areas tend to have lower levels of trust. The survey suggests, however, that the more important underlying factors are the increased pressures of work, the rise of individualised entertainment such as TV and the internet, and the general levels of resentment and suspicion that other people are free-riding.

"But when we ask people directly about preferences for the ethnicity of people living in their local area, nearly four in ten (39 per cent) say they would rather live in an area where people are from the same ethnic background as themselves." the author continued. "This is higher than we might have expected, particularly given the sensitivity of the question. But of course, it will often not be directly about ethnicity or race, but will be a shorthand for wanting to live in areas where people share your values - something that 85 per cent of people say they want. For some people the idea of ethnic diversity will simply conjure up negative images of deprived, inner city areas."

The report also indicated a real age divide in responses to the question, with younger people much more likely to disagree. Supporters of diversity can draw some comfort from the survey. In particular, when asked about why there is less community spirit in Britain today (and then asked to choose one or two from six reasons) 40 per cent of people selected people working longer hours, 35 per cent selected people spending more time watching television or on the internet, 20 per cent selected people moving home more often and only in fourth place, with 17 per cent, came "there are more newcomers to the country, including immigrants and asylum seekers."

But in any case, it seems that many people's concern about ethnic diversity is often largely a part of a broader anxiety about other people free-riding. When asked in the poll whether other people get unfair priority when it comes to public services and state benefits 45% agreed that they did. This rises to over half among lower social classes, who will have most contact with these services and benefits, and, in a sense, most to lose.

This is a startling level of suspicion but it is not particularly new; in a 1996 survey, people thought £37 out of every £100 of welfare benefits was being paid out in fraudulent claims. People are just very sensitive to free-loading, and believe it is widespread. The most resented groups were asylum-seekers and recent immigrants, This is a very different pattern to what might have been observed ten or 15 years ago, when lone parents and the unemployed in general tended to be the groups identified as undeserving.

MORI interviewed a nationally representative quota sample of 1,000 adults aged 16+ across Great Britain between 28 November and 1 December 2003. All interviews were carried out by telephone. Data were weighted to reflect the known population profile. For further information about the poll, click here.

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