Public abandons support for Syrian refugees coming to Britain

A YouGov survey found that 49 per cent believed that Britain should be accepting fewer or no refugees — a 22-point increase since September
A YouGov survey found that 49 per cent believed that Britain should be accepting fewer or no refugees — a 22-point increase since September
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Public support for allowing Syrian refugees to settle in Britain has slumped, a poll for The Times shows.

David Cameron has pledged to resettle 20,000 Syrians by the end of the decade. The first charter flight, bringing around 100, touched down in Scotland yesterday. However, a YouGov survey found that 49 per cent of those asked believed that Britain should be accepting fewer or no refugees — a 22-point increase in those holding the view since September.

The proportion of the public who think Britain should take more Syrian refugees has also fallen sharply since the earlier survey, from 36 to 20 per cent.

It suggests that the support for refugees that built after the death of Aylan Kurdi, the toddler who drowned as his