Authoritarianism and immigration attitudes in the UK

Opposition to immigration has featured prominently in the ‘cultural backlash’ to globalizationin Western nations and was a key determinant of Britain’s Brexit referendum. In this paper, we draw on theories of intergroup threat to examine the effect of ‘right-wing authoritarianism’ (RWA) on immigration attitudes in the UK. Previous research suggests that cultural aspects of immigration are especially important in shaping anti-immigrant attitudes. We use an original survey measuring attitudes towards immigration from differing skill levels and national origins. We find that RWA is a much stronger predictor of immigration attitudes than other attributes. Additionally, the effect of RWA varies by origin, most strongly predicting opposition towards culturally distant immigrant groups. We also find evidence that these effects are driven by the ‘aggression’ component of RWA, a facet of authoritarianism that captures a predisposition toward the enforcement of group norms.