UK Deeply Divided Over Letting In Refugees
As Britain prepares to accept 20,000 refugees, a Sky News survey finds over half of people are worried about the impact.
Thursday 1 October 2015 23:20, UK
Britain is deeply divided about how the nation should respond to the crisis in Syria, with the majority concerned about the impact of refugees coming into the UK.
Exclusive survey results by Sky News have found that 47% of British people favour taking in fewer refugees. When the same question was asked using the term "asylum seeker", that figure was 57%.
Meanwhile, 61% think Britain's resources can't take the strain of more refugees.
The findings come after the Government's decision to accept 20,000 refugees from camps neighbouring Syria, but none who have already travelled to Europe, sparked intense debate about the appropriate response to the refugee crisis.
For Ayham Al-Halabi, 20, whose family are among only 217 Syrian refugees given asylum in the UK under the Vulnerable Relocation Scheme for Syrian Nationals, it has been the difference between life and death.
"My younger brother has leukaemia. If he did not get chemotherapy, it would have meant death," said Mr Alhalali, whose family was prompted to flee Syria after his father was killed in the war.
"We were received by the British government. So me and my family are very lucky. But it's not enough. When you know that the number of Syrian refugees in the world, it's in the millions."
He added: "This war has been now four years. I think all the people know our situation… we are coming from a dangerous place. Not coming here because we are looking for money, but because we are looking for a safe place for our children."
The question of when more Syrian refugees will arrive in Britain remains unanswered, as local authorities discuss whether to offer places. Some have relied on support from community groups before reaching a decision.
"There is acute housing pressure. We are a very full place," said Richard Cornelius, leader of Barnet Council, the most populous local authority in London.
"I have said that we will offer places to 50 Syrian refugees because the London Citizens Group have got themselves organised and they have removed all of the objections I could have come up with - the housing, the doctors, the reception into the community."
But on the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council on Northern Ireland’s North Antrim Coast, a motion to offer places to Syrian refugees was recently voted down, and the words "Refugees Not Welcome" daubed in graffiti on a local church.
Local politicians condemned the graffiti, but said local people did have concerns.
"Of course we need to help refugees from Syria. But there are concerns about too many people from the Islamic faith coming over and changing the nature of Europe," said DUP councillor Ian Stevenson.
"People do have concerns and worries about it. But I think that more stems from the extremists within Islam, rather than moderate people."
Others said the question of whether to accept refugees in Northern Ireland had become embroiled in existing political divisions.
Sky Data interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,002 Sky customers online 18-20 September 2015. Data weighted to the profile of the population.
For full Sky Data tables, please click here.