Tories now more popular with working class voters than middle class ones, reveals election poll
2 min read
The Tories under Boris Johnson are now more popular with the working classes than the middle classes, according to a new poll.
A survey by YouGov found that the Conservatives won 48% of voters in the lower C2DE social grade at last week's election, as opposed to 43% in the higher ABC1.
The C2DE grade is made up of skilled and unskilled manual workers, pensioners, casual workers and the unemployed, while ABC1 is managerial, professional and administrative staff.
Meanwhile, the polling shows Labour can no longer claim to be the party of the working classes, after they performed the same amongst both social grade groups - winning just 33% of the vote among each.
Mr Johnson was returned to Downing Street with a majority of 80 after winning a number of former Labour-held seats in the North and the Midlands with large working class communities.
The Tories were also successful in bringing down the age at which where are more likely to back them by almost a decade compared with 2017.
It was 47 at the last election, but was 39 at last week’s poll - although Labour is still winning over a majority of younger voters.
YouGov said: "In fact, for every 10 years older a voter is, their chance of voting Tory increases by around nine points, and the chance of them voting Labour decreases by eight points."
The pollster said that a gender gap in terms of voting preference only exists among the young, with the Tories are ahead among younger men and Labour ahead among younger female voters.
But education is still a key dividing line in elections, according to YouGov, with Jeremy Corbyn’s party faring much better with those educated to degree-level or higher, at 43% to 29% against Mr Johnson’s party.
Among voters who do not hold a degree, however, the Conservatives did much better than Labour, and outperformed then by more than two to one with those educated to GCSE or lower.
And YouGov said the Tories did a much better job than Labour of retaining their 2017 voters.
They added: "Some 85% of those who voted Conservative in 2017 stuck with them in 2019, compared to 72% of Labour voters.
"The only party with a better retention of 2017 voters was the SNP, who kept hold of 87% of their past voters."
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