CNN poll: Majority of Britons oppose immigration

[pampango]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/05/05/uk.election.immigration.poll/

More than three out of four British people think fewer foreigners should be allowed to move to the country, a new poll by YouGov for CNN found Wednesday. Some 77 percent of the British people questioned say net immigration should decrease or that no immigration should be allowed at all.

The opposition Conservative party, which leads in many opinion polls, has taken a harder line on immigration than Brown's Labour party or the smaller opposition Liberal Democrats. Conservative voters were more likely than others to oppose immigration, according to the poll.

About half of Labour and Liberal Democrat voters took one of those positions. The Labour government put in place a points-based immigration system that allows only skilled non-European Union immigrants into the country based on the U.K.'s needs. The Lib Dems support the points-based system but also want an "earned route" to citizenship for any immigrant in the U.K. for more than 10 years and without a criminal record.

Two smaller parties take a still harder line on immigration. The British National Party wants an immediate halt to all immigration. The UK Independence Party wants a five-year freeze on immigration for permanent settlement, and a cap of 50,000 net immigrants per year after that.