Poles afraid of Britons’ resentment after Brexit: poll

Seventy-four percent of Poles living in Great Britain are pointing at negative sentiment regarding immigrants as their main concern after the referendum on UK membership of the EU, according to an IBRiS poll.

Archive PAP/EPA / epa05383395 A British Union flag, commonly known as a Union Jack, flies in in front of the landmark Big Ben, in London, Britain, 22 June 2016. Britons will vote on whether to remain in or leave the EU in a referendum on 23 June 2016. EPA/HANNAH MCKAY Archive PAP/EPA

A new poll by the Institute for Market and Social Research (IBRiS) was made available exclusively to PAP, British newspaper Sunday Times and Polish internet portal Onet.pl.

According to the poll, the incidents of hostility towards immigrants, including the Polish community, which were widely reported by the media have increased anxiety among Poles. Almost 74 percent of surveyed Poles fear further resentment towards migrants, up by 35 percentage points compared to the previous poll which was carried out one week before the referendum. “These are unprecedented changes indicating a very high level of social emotions,” said Marcin Duma, IBRiS chief, in a commentary to the poll.

Twelve percent of those polled declared that they personally experienced unpleasant incidents in the first days after the referendum. A vast majority (close to 90 pct) of them said, however, that those incidents were of verbal nature, like insults, curses and negative comments.

Despite assaults on the immigrants and related fears, a majority of the polled see their future in Great Britain (79 percent). Twenty-two percent see return to Poland only as a plan B, should the changes related with leaving the EU turn out to be too great. Five and a half percent declare unconditional return to Poland.

The survey was conducted from June 29 to July 1 on a group of 2,562 Poles living in Great Britain. Earlier IBRiS conducted a similar survey in the week before the referendum. (PAP)

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