Over 4 in 10 Dutch don't want a new asylum center in their municipality

Over four in ten Dutch people would not like a new reception location for asylum seekers in their municipality. In Flevoland, Zeeland, and Noord-Brabant, a majority even objects to this. That is evident from survey research by Kieskompas and the ANP among over 7,500 Dutch people.

In Groningen, the province that has the largest location in the Netherlands with the registration center in Ter Apel, the fewest people object to a new asylum center: about a third.

Whether or not someone objects to a new asylum shelter in their neighborhood is strongly linked to voting behavior. Over eight in ten people who voted for the PVV or FvD during the parliamentary elections of November last year object to a new asylum seekers’ center in their municipality. A large majority of voters from GroenLinks-PvdA, DENK, Volt, CrhsitenUnie, and D66 have no problem with this. The group of voters who don’t object to a new shelter as long as it is not in their backyard is the largest among VVD, NSC, and CDA voters.

The asylum distribution law took effect on February 1. The law obliges municipalities to shelter a certain number of asylum seekers. How many depends on the number of inhabitants of the municipality, among other things.

The survey was conducted by Kieskompas at the end of February and was completed by a representative group of 7,738 adult Dutch people. They responded to the statement: “How would you feel if there was (another) reception location for asylum seekers in your municipality?”