Less than quarter of UK public believe Rwanda flights will ever take off

New polling of the UK public from after the Prime Minister’s Rwanda Bill passing the third reading in the Commons shows that his brusing victory has not moved the needle with a sceptical public, according to Savanta.

The poll conducted over last weekend (19-21 January) showed that less than a quarter (22%) of the public believe that the flights to Rwanda will ever take off. Just 4% feel “very sure”.

The majority of the public (52%) believe the controversial scheme won’t make any difference to the number of migrants crossing the English Channel. Notably, this number has barely moved since November 2023 (51%) even with the government’s major campaign to convince the public since then.

Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta said, “The public remain deeply unimpressed by the government’s attempts to tackle migration numbers.

“Our latest polling figures – from shortly after Sunak’s turbulent Rwanda Bill victory in the Commons – show a majority (52%) think that Rwanda scheme won’t make any impact to numbers of migrants crossing the channel.

“Perhaps even more damningly for a Prime Minister who has staked his reputation on Stopping the Boats, less than a quarter (22%) believe flights to Rwanda will even take off at all.”

“Savanta’s research consistently shows that the public – and Conservative voters – do not believe that this government is being successful in delivering against its key priorities.

“Even on areas where Sunak can claim to have met a pledge, the public either don’t give him due credit, or the perception remains that the issue is still going badly. Clearly there is a more fundamental issue of competence and credibility dogging the prime minister. Whether that can be changed remains to be seen.”