Labour losing working-class supporters

LABOUR is now the third most popular party among working class voters, a new poll indicates, as the party faces a close-run battle with Ukip to hold on to one of its key seats.

Research undertaken by YouGov found that Labour ranks behind Ukip and the Conservatives among lower-income voters for what could be the first time in the party’s history.

Meanwhile, one of Jeremy Corbyn’s closest allies described Ukip voters in Stoke as “toe-rags ... who nick your bike” ahead of this month’s by-election.

Voters in the Labour-held seat will go to the polls on Feb 23 after Tristram Hunt stepped down, but the party fears it may lose to Ukip.

Paul Mason, the Corbyn-supporting former BBC journalist, was filmed attacking Ukip supporters.

He told an audience in Hackney, east London: “They’re not working-class Tories… most of the Ukip people are either people who haven’t voted or have flipped in a radical way from Labour. They are toe-rags, basically. They are the bloke who nicks your bike.

“No, seriously, that’s who it is, it’s the bloke who does all the anti-social things.”

He was speaking specifically about voters in Stoke, according to reports from the event.

The latest YouGov poll for The Times put Labour at 24 per cent, matching a survey for the company in December last year. It is Labour’s worst performance since 2009.

The Tories enjoyed a 16-point lead on 40 per cent, with Ukip just 10 points behind Mr Corbyn’s party on 14 per cent of the vote. The Liberal Democrats remained at 11 per cent.

Ukip performed better with working-class voters, acquiring 23 per cent support compared with Labour’s 20 per cent and the Tories’ 39 per cent.

Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, admitted he was unsure whether the party would hold on to both Stoke Central and Copeland, where it is facing a by-election challenge from the Conservatives.