Quote Originally Posted by ramAnag View Post
Ha, ha…well you should certainly know…but, back on topic, it seems you’re in a minority. According to ‘Policy Exchange’ it would appear that the two joint most important issues in the forthcoming General Election will be ‘Bring down inflation to stop the price of household goods rising’ and ‘Reduce NHS waiting lists’. Next comes ‘Build a more self sufficient energy infrastructure’, all long before ‘Stop small boats crossing the Channel’ which has significant support amongst Conservative and Leave voters, especially those over 65 apparently, but little from elsewhere. In 5th place was ‘Reduce taxes to help with the cost of living.’
What's your source for this rA - I've just looked at their 2023 analysis for the issues people would want a government to prioritise - https://policyexchange.org.uk/wp-con...Priorities.pdf - and its not quite as you portray

1. Inflation (26%)
2. NHS Waiting lists / Self sufficient energy (15% each)
4. Immigration - small boats / Reduce Taxes (12% each)

then 8 other issues earning between 1% and 3% as well as "don't want to say"

So looking at the numbers (sorry, not your favourite) the small boats issue is NOT trailing long behind the other issues, but rather is one of the top 5 key issues (out of 13) identified and, to all practical effect ranks pretty much alongside all the other top 5 other than runaway leader "reducing inflation". In footballing terms its a Barnsley like policy (somewhat ironically, Gunter) lying joint 4th and in a playoff place.

This as of course 2023 survey, so maybe you've seen a 2024 update which supports your perspective on it. Let me know

Stopping small boats is 6 times as popular as "making the streets safe" and 12 times as popular as "improving trains and buses" or "reviving town centers".

When cherry picking statistics to support your own beliefs please be aware that they can be fact checked