The stat that shows British people are fed up with Boris Johnson's handling of immigration

A record number of people think the government is mishandling immigration, according to a new poll.

The YouGov survey shows 76% of respondents think the Tories are doing badly regarding the issue, compared to 12% who think they are doing well.

The previous highest figure was taken on 17 August last year, when 74% of people asked were not impressed with the government’s handling of immigration.

Fixing immigration was one of the main points the Leave campaign had when it successfully argued for Brexit in 2016, but the Tories have been criticised for how they've dealt with the issue since.

Watch: Priti Patel defends £54 million payment to France to tackle migrant crossings

Last week Labour accused the Tories of being in “chaos” when nearly 1,000 people crossed the English Channel in small boats over two days.

At least 482 people succeeded in crossing last Wednesday – a new record for a single day – while a further 475 arrived on Thursday.

More than 10,000 people have now made the life-threatening journey across the Dover Strait in small boats this year, according to data compiled by the PA news agency.

Immigration minister Chris Philp travelled to France last week after the government agreed to give French authorities an extra £54m to tackle the issue last month.

He joined a beach patrol during the visit and said the UK must work together with the French to solve the problem of organised gangs trafficking people across the Channel.

However, his comments were criticised by Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds, who said: “These vague comments from a minister once again show the chaos the government is in, with no proper plan to deal with the increasing number of Channel crossings.”

Home secretary Priti Patel and her department have repeatedly vowed to make the Channel route “unviable”, but crossings have continued to rise.

She has met members of the Greek government to discuss “shared challenges on illegal migration”.

The visit last week saw Patel meet ministers in Athens before going out on patrol with the Hellenic coastguard off the island of Samos to learn more about the methods used to prevent small boat crossings.

The Tories are also hoping a new points-based immigration system will please voters.

Visa applicants — including those from the European Union — will need 70 points to be eligible to come and work in the UK from 1 January 2021.