Immigration is regarded by the public as the biggest issue facing British society, a major new survey taking stock of the state of the country reveals

One in three people believes that tension between immigrants and people born in Britain is the major cause of division, while well over half regard it as one of the top three causes. Over the past two decades, both immigration and emigration have increased to historically high levels, with those entering the country exceeding those leaving by more than 100,000 in every year since 1998. The survey, by Ipsos MORI, also discovered a high proportion of people who were pessimistic about the British economy (50%). Nearly half (46%) said that Britain was heading in the wrong direction. Three in four also believe that Britain is in a housing crisis.