Red Wall voters tell Rishi Sunak he must fix the Channel boats crisis
RED Wall voters think the PM needs to get a grip of our borders and fix the migrants crisis, a focus group found.
And half back the reintroduction of the death penalty for the most serious criminals.
The findings come as Rishi Sunak prepares to launch his flagship new law to crack down on illegal Channel boat migration in early March.
The Sun on Sunday sat in on a focus group run by the think-tank More in Common in the key Red Wall town of Leigh, Gtr Manchester.
The area is historically Labour but switched to the Tories for the first time at the 2019 election.
Locals backed tougher rules and vetting of people crossing the Channel on small boats.
One voter said the PM should “get a grip”.
Another questioned why migrants are not staying in the first safe country they arrive in, adding that Britain is seen as “an easy target”.
A third said we should offer sanctuary to people fleeing war and persecution — but he warned taxpayers are paying “bucket loads” to house migrants.
He said: “People take the p*** out of our system because they get a free house and other stuff.”
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They were also quizzed on capital punishment after Tory vice chair Lee Anderson’s backing for its return.
A straw poll of the eight participants, evenly split between Labour and Tory voters, found half backed the death penalty for rape and murder.
The group also mainly blamed the Government for recent strikes, backing pay rises for nurses.
And they highlighted Partygate and Liz Truss’s disastrous premiership as reasons to ditch the Tories, with six of the eight backing Labour.
Luke Tryl, director of More in Common, said: “This group of Red Wall voters had a clear message to the PM — he needs to get a grip on small boats and do it quickly.”