A political realignment appears to be underway in Britain as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK now stands as the most popular party among working-class voters, while the left-wing Labour Party has become increasingly favoured by wealthier voters.
A survey of over 17,000 Britons from YouGov has found that those earning more than £70,000 per year are more likely to vote for Labour compared to any other party, at 31 per cent, compared to just 19 per cent support among those earning less than £20,000.
Conversely, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party now stands as the top party of those earning less than £20,000 per year at 32 per cent, compared to 17 per cent among those earning more than £70,000.
Overall, Reform holds a commanding lead among those explicitly classified as living in working-class households at 35 per cent, enough for a 16-point lead over the Labour Party.
The stunning transformation of the electorate comes as Mr Farage has consciously courted the working-class vote, and as the Labour Party, which was literally founded as a working-class party, has increasingly shifted its focus to cater to the niche concerns of woke urban elites.
A key driver of this new paradigm has been the issue of immigration. While the middle class can often benefit from unfettered immigration, as it provides cheap labour for their commercial interests, suppressing the price of goods and services they use, and artificially drives up the value of their homes, the working class faces increased competition for jobs, a downward pressure on their wages, and artificially higher rental prices as a result of the importation of millions of foreigners.
According to YouGov, of the working-class voters who have switched from Labour at the last election to Reform, 62 per cent cited immigration as their top reason.
Commenting on the findings of the survey, pollster Robert Hayward said per the Independent: “The working class has always been socially conservative but dependent on the state, so voted Labour. The link has been broken – firstly by Brexit, then by immigration.
“There is now a fairly large cohort of the upper class dependent on the state and which is also not affected so much by immigration, but is also internationalist in mindset.”
UK Director of the More in Common survey firm Luke Tryl added that “the working class have borne the brunt of the cost of living crisis. And also when public services are not working, the working class are more dependent on them.”
In addition to immigration, Farage and Reform have also modified their traditional laissez-faire stances on key economic questions, such as backing state intervention to protect UK industry.
For instance, they have called for nationalising British Steel to prevent its Chinese owners from shutting down the Scunthorpe steelworks. Reform has also backed the restoration of the Welsh coal industry to help drive down the energy costs of the steel industry.
Additionally, Farage has backed restoring the winter fuel subsidies for pensioners, called for the end of the two-child benefit cap, and has proposed a special ‘Robin Hood’ tax on wealthy non-doms of £250,000, which would be directed to subsidise the lowest earners.
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