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Resources, Group Conflict and Symbols: Explaining Anti‐Immigration Hostility in Britain

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  • Lauren McLaren
  • Mark Johnson

Abstract

This article analyses the causes of variation in attitudes to immigration policy in the UK. The key theoretical approaches emphasised are: the role of self‐interest; group conflict over resources; and group conflict over important symbols of Britishness. The connection between perceptions of immigration and crime is also investigated. Based on the 2003 British Social Attitudes Survey, the findings indicate that self‐interest has very little bearing on opposition to immigration and that British citizens instead appear to be most concerned with threats to ingroup resources posed by immigration, threats to the shared customs and traditions of British society (particularly those posed by Muslims) and – to a lesser extent – the potential for increased crime that may result from immigration.

Suggested Citation

  • Lauren McLaren & Mark Johnson, 2007. "Resources, Group Conflict and Symbols: Explaining Anti‐Immigration Hostility in Britain," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 55(4), pages 709-732, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:polstu:v:55:y:2007:i:4:p:709-732
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9248.2007.00680.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Facchini, Giovanni & Margalit, Yotam & Nakata, Hiroyuki, 2022. "Countering public opposition to immigration: The impact of information campaigns," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    2. Oshrat Hochman & Adi Hercowitz-Amir, 2017. "(Dis)agreement with the Implementation of Humanitarian Policy Measures Towards Asylum Seekers in Israel: Does the Frame Matter?," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 897-916, August.
    3. Mathew J. Creighton & Daniel Capistrano & Monika Silva Pedroso, 2023. "Educational Mobility and Attitudes Towards Migration from an International Comparative Perspective," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 817-841, June.
    4. Robert Ford & Matthew J. Goodwin, 2010. "Angry White Men: Individual and Contextual Predictors of Support for the British National Party," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 58(1), pages 1-25, February.
    5. repec:pra:mprapa:47899 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Heizler, Odelia & Israeli, Osnat, 2021. "The identifiable victim effect and public opinion toward immigration; a natural experiment study," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    7. Heizler (Cohen), Odelia & Israeli, Osnat, 2024. "Does a Tragic Event Affect Different Aspects of Attitudes toward Immigration?," IZA Discussion Papers 16802, IZA Network @ LISER.
    8. Sandra Schneemann & Hendrik Scholten & Christian Deutscher, 2018. "The Impact of Age on Nationality Bias: Evidence from Ski Jumping," Papers 1808.03804, arXiv.org.
    9. Andrea Bohman, 2015. "It's who you Know. Political Influence on Anti-Immigrant Attitudes and the Moderating Role of Intergroup Contact," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 20(3), pages 62-78, August.
    10. Musallam Abedtalas & Adnan Rashid Mamo, 2023. "Host Community Attitudes Towards Internally Displaced Persons: Evidence from Al-Bab, Syria," Journal of Social and Development Sciences, AMH International, vol. 13(4), pages 1-10.
    11. Bhaumik, Sumon & Chowdhury, Subhasish M. & Dimova, Ralitza & Fromell, Hanna, 2023. "Identity, Communication, and Conflict: An Experiment," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1255, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    12. Marfouk, Abdeslam, 2013. "Préjugés et fausses idées sur l’immigration et les immigrés, vecteurs de discrimination en matière d’accès à l’emploi [false ideas about immigrants and immigration and discrimination in labor market]," MPRA Paper 47989, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Anna Maria Koukal & Reiner Eichenberger & Patricia Schafera, 2019. "Enfranchising Foreigners: What Drives Natives’ Willingness to Share Power?," CREMA Working Paper Series 2019-10, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA).
    14. Inge Hendriks & Marcel Lubbers & Peer Scheepers, 2024. "Individual change in rejection of equal opportunities for foreigners among adolescents and young adults in Switzerland: Testing realistic conflict theory from a dynamic perspective," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(2), pages 1-20, February.
    15. Michael Savelkoul & Peer Scheepers & William Veld & Louk Hagendoorn, 2012. "Comparing levels of anti-Muslim attitudes across Western countries," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 46(5), pages 1617-1624, August.
    16. Cecilia Estrada-Villaseñor & Antonio Rúa & Mercedes Fernández, 2025. "Unveiling Subtle (Negative) Attitudes Towards Immigration in Spain in the Post-COVID Era: Challenges for Policymakers," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1895-1919, September.
    17. Eddy SF Yeung, 2021. "Does immigration boost public Euroscepticism in European Union member states?," European Union Politics, , vol. 22(4), pages 631-654, December.
    18. Scott Blinder & Yvonni Markaki, 2019. "Acceptable in the EU? Why some immigration restrictionists support European Union mobility," European Union Politics, , vol. 20(3), pages 468-491, September.
    19. Maria Abascal & Tiffany J. Huang & Van C. Tran, 2021. "Intervening in Anti-Immigrant Sentiments: The Causal Effects of Factual Information on Attitudes toward Immigration," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 697(1), pages 174-191, September.
    20. Jens Hainmueller & Daniel J. Hopkins, 2013. "Public Attitudes toward Immigration," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 1315, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    21. K Amber Curtis, 2014. "Inclusive versus exclusive: A cross-national comparison of the effects of subnational, national, and supranational identity," European Union Politics, , vol. 15(4), pages 521-546, December.

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