Concern about immigration has soared in recent years with more people seeing it as a major issue for the country than the economy or the NHS.

Polling by Ipsos found more than a third of people (32 per cent) said immigration is among the important issues facing Britain today.

This is ahead of the NHS and healthcare (30 per cent) and the economy (29 per cent).

Just 10 per cent said the environment and climate change was an important issue.

Attitudes to immigration have changed radically in recent years.

Concern peaked in September 2015 with 56 per cent saying it was an important issue. But in the wake of the Brexit vote and the 2019 election the topic was seen as less important.

Just five per cent thought immigration was among Britain’s most important issues in April 2020 but since then it has risen up the political agenda. In August this year the figure was 34 per cent.

During this time the challenge of preventing migrants crossing the Channel in small boats has become one of the biggest challenges facing the Government.

In the run-up to the election, the Conservatives’ struggles to get the scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing up and running made headlines.

Last month 18 per cent of people said immigration is the most important issue facing Britain today – ahead of the economy (17 per cent), the NHS and healthcare and inflation and prices (both seven per cent).

Alp Mehmet of Migration Watch said: “The latest Ipsos polling shows the growing disconnect between the government and the public on immigration.

“People are concerned by the absence of a coherent strategy to deal with both out of control legal and illegal migration that is driving unprecedented population growth and costing the taxpayer eye-watering amounts, while pensioners are to be denied help to keep warm.”

But Tim Noar Hilton, the chief executive of Refugee Action, said: “The previous Government created an atmosphere of hostility, using divisive rhetoric and harmful policies to scapegoat people seeking asylum for their own failings. We need a transformed asylum system that respects human rights, processes claims efficiently and allows refugees to rebuild their lives with dignity.

“Refugees are ordinary people, forced to flee due to circumstances beyond their control, and they deserve our compassion — not blame. It’s time to stop demonising those seeking safety and build a just, inclusive society that ensures everyone can live safely, access essential services, and contribute to our communities.”