The terrorist attacks in Paris appear to have shifted public attitudes on both refugees and airstrikes. According to a new poll from the Times/YouGov, 20 per cent think we should accept more refugees — down 16 points from September — while almost half said we should accept fewer or none at all, which is a 22 point increase from September. Other factors may have played into this shift in opinion but what has happened in Paris will surely have played a big part in it.
The poll also reveals that the public backs the decision to to kill Mohammed Emwazi, aka Jihadi John, via a drone strike. 76 per cent said it was the right decision to kill Emwazi, compared to 11 per cent said it was wrong and 13 per cent were unsure. Interestingly, 64 per cent of people who voted Labour at the last election back to the decision to kill Emwazi — a different view from the party’s current leader Jeremy Corbyn, who said it would have been ‘far better’ if he had ended up in court.
The poll also brings some good news for David Cameron, who has raised the possibility of returning to the Commons for a vote on bombing Syria in the near future. 58 per cent of those polled said they would approve of the RAF taking part in airstrikes against Isis in Syria, compared to 22 per cent are against it. 64 per cent also said they believe the West should be doing more overall to combat the Isis threat.
There is, however, another poll out this morning from Survation, which paints a slightly different picture of public moods about military action. According to this poll, over half said that military strikes against Isis had made the UK less safe, but 55 per cent stated that any response should be put before Parliament so MPs can debate and vote on the best course of action. If nothing else, the Prime Minister can be pleased there is support out there for at least having another Parliamentary debate about bombing Syria.
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