Most want fewer migrants - poll
A new poll has revealed widespread discontent with the number of migrants coming to Britain.
More than seven out of 10 adults want sharp cuts in immigration levels of more than 80%, it found.
Across the country only 5% of people supported current immigrant levels and 79% said they were concerned about migrant numbers.
The MPs who commissioned the poll said the issue was being "swept under the carpet" at Westminster. They warned it could become a "recruiting sergeant" for extremist parties if it was not addressed.
Pollsters YouGov told more than 2,000 members of the public that net immigration levels - the number coming in minus the number leaving - were around 300,000 a year over the past five years. They were then asked what level it should be set at instead.
In response around 40% said they wanted numbers to be balanced, so the overall population level stayed the same.
One in six said net immigration should be cut to 50,000 a year and about the same proportion called for the population to be cut.
MPs Frank Field and Nicholas Soames, chairmen of the cross party balanced migration group said: "This poll shows the public's concern about immigration is very widely felt and the demand for change very strong indeed. If mainstream parties do not tackle these issues, the extremist parties will. Silence and inaction on immigration are the recruiting sergeants for the BNP."
The poll found support from young people for drastic cuts. Among 18 to 34-year-olds more than 60% called for immigration levels to be set at 50,000 or less.
A spokesman for the UK Border Agency said: "We have listened to the British people and have made huge changes to the immigration system including banning low skilled workers from outside Europe and tightening the criteria for highly skilled migrants. As a result we expect to see reductions in the numbers coming here."
