Exclusive poll: how Labour can win on immigration

In January, 29% of respondents named immigration as one of the top three issues. In the most recent September polling, this had surged to 49% – second only to the cost of living, which was named by 55% of respondents. 

This spells particular trouble for the government, as Keir Starmer polls especially badly on immigration: just 20% of voters say he has “the right ideas” on the issue, versus 58% who say he has the wrong ones. By contrast, 45% say Nigel Farage is right on the issue, versus 34% who say he’s in the wrong.

However, the Deltapoll figures show a huge difference in the public response when they are asked about the top three issues facing the nation versus the top three issues affecting them personally. When asked about the nation, cost of living comes first at 55%, immigration second at 49% and the NHS third on 42% (with the economy a distant third at 30%).

When asked for the most important issues facing “you and your family”, though, the answers changed – cost of living was an even stronger first place, mentioned by 63% of respondents, the NHS moved up to second on 36%, and the economy comes in third place, mentioned by 26%. Immigration was the fourth-ranking issue, named by just 21%.

In other words, people are much likelier to name immigration as an issue affecting the nation than one affecting themselves personally – which Deltapoll’s co-founder and director Joe Twyman said represented an opportunity for Labour.

“Historically voters tend to focus more on what matters most to them, rather than the country, when it comes to deciding how they will actually vote come a general election,” he said. “This might suggest that to tackle Reform, Labour should pay less attention to immigration and asylum, where Reform are particularly strong, and instead concentrate more on the economy, where Reform have historically been much weaker.

“The reality, of course, is that they will need to do both – and the government are not doing well on either immigration and asylum or the economy at the moment.”

Labour’s prospects would likelier be better served by a focus on the economy and cost of living, rather than fighting Reform directly on immigration – the issue upon which they poll most strongly. The public care much more directly about these issues, would notice improvement in them more strongly, and while Labour doesn’t poll well on these issues, it is stronger than on immigration.

The polling figures also show the public remains confused as to the core issues around the immigration debate, even as it dominates coverage. Around 48% of the public believe more people arrived illegally into the UK than arrived through legal immigration, whereas in reality legal migrants outnumber “illegal” arrivals by a factor of around ten-to-one. 

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Similarly, despite the public ranking the economy and cost of living ahead of immigration in their own lives, 51% said immigration should be reduced even if that came at the cost of economic growth, versus 37% prioritising the latter. 

However, the public also strongly supported skilled workers and foreign students coming to the UK: 73% said the number of people coming to the UK to work in the NHS should be increased or kept at the same level, as should “people with high levels of skills and education coming to the UK for highly skilled jobs”. For students, 62% said overseas students should continue coming to the UK at similar or higher levels to now.

The Deltapoll findings echo a recent academic study, which also suggested that taking on Reform directly over immigration backfires for Labour. That study suggested that support for Labour dropped among those who heard Starmer’s infamous “island of strangers” speech on immigration in May, by around four percentage points.

• Deltapoll interviewed 1,958 British adults online between 5^th to 8^th September 2025. The data has been weighted to be representative of the British adult population as a whole.