Two contrasting takes on what people think of government’s small boats policy
A small plurality (with margin of error) supports the policy:
![From what you have seen or heard, do you support or oppose the Government’s approach towards people coming to the UK in small boats?](https://www.markpack.org.uk/files/2023/04/survey-result-6-790x688.png)
But people also have clearly negative views about whether the policy will work:
![How effective, if at all, do you think the Government’s approach will be at stopping people coming to the UK in small boats?](https://www.markpack.org.uk/files/2023/04/survey-result-7-790x688.png)
Limited support for the policy plus strong scepticism about its likelihood of working – added to the fact that it’s not an issue that rates that highly with many voters – make for an unlikely backdrop against which Rishi Sunak has decided to single out this issue.
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![Polling UnPacked book cover and Sunday Times review quote](https://www.markpack.org.uk/files/2022/03/Polling-UnPacked-book-cover-and-Sunday-Times-review-quote-790x444.jpg)
Mark, it may be that people’s opinion on the ‘small boats’ policy depends upon whether they view it as stopping migrants from arriving in this country and claiming asylum or a measure to save lives by discouraging people from undertaking such a dangerous enterprise. I notice that the Home Secretary appears to be concentrating upon the latter interpretation, making the message ‘how can you possibly oppose a policy which will save the lives of women and children?’ It might be useful were these two claimed aims to be separated out in a future poll.