Researchers said some members of the public are ‘far too negative about life in London’
A third of Britons share Donald Trump’s belief that “no-go” zones exist within London, according to new polling data.
Earlier this month, the US president claimed that certain parts of the capital contain areas where police are “afraid to go” because there is “no law and order” – remarks that came a year after he told a United Nations gathering that London wants to “go to sharia law”.
A survey of more than 2,000 UK adults, conducted in March and published on Thursday, September 10, revealed that 34 per cent of the public believe there are areas in London where sharia law dominates and non-Muslims cannot enter, making them “no-go” places. A marginally larger proportion (36 per cent) rejected this belief, while approximately one in five respondents admitted they were uncertain either way.
Mr Trump, speaking during an interview with GB News last week, claimed London is a “much different place”, with ” crime that’s very high”.
He went on to say: “You have areas in Paris and London where the police don’t want to even go in them, there’s no law and order. They’re afraid to go in them. Either they’re afraid or they just don’t, you know, they don’t want to lose their life.”
The YouGov poll, commissioned for the “London has fallen? Misperceptions of crime, race, religion and life in the UK capital” study by King’s College London (KCL), established that the general public consistently overestimates crime levels across the capital.
Respondents estimated that 30 per cent of Londoners had personally fallen victim to crime within a single year, while Londoners themselves put the figure at 25 per cent. Both figures were considerably higher than the actual rate of 12.2 per cent, according to KCL researchers.
Reform UK supporters held the most exaggerated perception of crime risk in London, placing their estimate at 40 per cent.
The study further revealed that the Muslim proportion of London’s population is believed to be more than twice its actual size – with the average public estimate standing at 35 per cent, compared to the true figure of 15 per cent.
Supporters of Reform UK and the Conservative Party were particularly prone to overestimating the city’s Muslim population, at 50 per cent and 40 per cent respectively.
Conversely, Labour and Green supporters were less inclined to acknowledge that certain categories of crime have increased, the research discovered. Despite rises in both violent and sexual offences across London, fewer than half of supporters from these parties believed either had increased – in stark contrast to majorities amongst Reform and Conservative supporters.
Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the policy institute at KCL, commented: “London has become a lightning rod in our national debate – deeply connected to arguments about crime, immigration and the direction of the country – with the sense that ‘London has fallen’ now a recurring theme in political, media and social media narratives.”
He added: “This study shows people don’t just have varying opinions about the capital; they’re working from different facts about it – with many being far too negative about the realities in London.”
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