Voters are United in Concern for the Economy, Less Over Immigration

Ipsos MORI have released their issues index for November, with the headline finding that the main issues to Brits are economic. 45% of respondents rank the Economy as one the most important issue facing the country, with 45% also pointed to inflation specifically. This marks the second month in a row that the Economy has topped the ranking, whilst the proportion of people responding with inflation has increased by 7%.

The importance of the economy is registered across all voters, irrespective of political affiliations. However, one issue on the rise without such universal concern is immigration. Although it has seen its salience increase by 10%, putting it as the country's 4th most important issue, there is a significant divergence by party affiliation.

Amongst those inclined to support the Conservatives, 42% say immigration is an important concern, putting it second in their rankings, even ahead of inflation. By contrast, it's in seventh place for Labour, with just 13% of respondents citing it.

This highlights the dangers on immigration for the Conservatives. There is a common perception it's being handled badly, and their voters are the ones most likely to care about that. Whilst it's still an issue they see relatively strong showings in compared to Labour, the threat to these voters was unlikely to come from the left. And even if Labour can't make gains on it, which would be difficult considering the divergent preferences of their supporters, the Conservatives could well lose out to apathy or the right.

This challenge could well be made worse by the timing of fieldwork. Surveys were completed by the 16th November - before yesterday's well-publicised headlines of record immigration levels. CCHQ will be watching Nigel Farage's next move very closely.