Two in five people surveyed in Worcester think immigrants should be free to live and work in Britain, according to new research.

News publisher Unherd surveyed more than 21,000 people in conjunction with pollster FocalData to map social attitudes across Great Britain.

Participants were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement “immigrants should be free to move to Britain and work”.

In Worcester, more people were in favour of immigration (40%) than opposed (38%), with the rest undecided.

Of these, 14% strongly agreed with the statement, while 27% said they simply agreed.

The parliamentary constituencies were ranked based on how many agreed versus disagreed, with a lower ranking indicating greater support for immigration.

Worcester placed 177th of 632 constituencies – not including the 18 in Northern Ireland.

Across Britain as a whole, 35% of people were pro-immigration, 38% were against, and 27% were not inclined either way.

The area most hostile to immigrants was Clacton in Essex, where 47% of residents were against free movement.

Eric Kaufmann, Unherd commentator and professor of politics at London’s Birkbeck University said:

“Immigration attitudes are the fulcrum around which the politics of western societies are realigning.

“This is because those whose psychological make-up inclines them to see difference as disorder and change as loss are voting for parties that promise to slow immigration.”

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