New polling shows Labour is ahead of the Conservative Party, but in an entirely backwards way that is an affront to the history of the party. People in the UK who earn £70,000 or more are now more likely to vote Labour than any other party, according to analysis by YouGov.

Labour are the new Tories

Unfortunately, meanwhile, many working class voters have turned to Nigel Farage’s Reform. 32% of households with £20,000 or less in yearly income are opting for that party. But they are voting against their own interest.

In the 2024 election, Reform pledged to halve the rate of inheritance tax and raise the threshold to estates worth more than £2m. This would usher in a new wave of unearned wealth for the children of family dynasties. Reform would lower the rate from 40% to 20% and raise the £325,000 threshold. It certainly wouldn’t benefit the working class people voting Reform.

People voting for Farage’s party are more likely to be older. 54% of those who switched from Labour to Reform are 50 or over.

Reasons for the exodus

And it turns out Keir Starmer lying his way to the Labour leadership and then carrying out policies that weren’t detailed in the manifesto is unpopular with voters. The greatest proportion – 29% of Labour defectors – said that Starmer breaking or not delivering on promises was the main reason they left.

Another 24% said that Labour have done too little about the cost of living. Indeed, research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) shows literally everyone except pensioners will be worse off from Rachel Reeves’ October budget. And that’s before one gets to their planned cuts to disability support. JRF modelling found that the average family will have £770 less in real terms by October 2029.

And those with the least broad shoulders will relatively lose more. The poorest third of households will see their disposable income drop by 3.3% by October 2029. And the richest third will only see a drop of 1.7%.

A further 22% of Labour defectors said Labour is too right wing, while just 2% said Labour’s too left-wing. This demonstrates that Starmer’s ‘right of centre’ approach is not only detrimental to the country it is also not electorally viable. For instance, consistent polling over the years shows high levels of electoral support for public ownership of utilities, across all parties.

31% of the wealthiest Britons are opting for Labour compared to just 17% for the Conservatives. What was once a party of progressive economic change has become the residence of the upper class. Shame on Starmer.

Featured image via the Canary

By James Wright

This post was originally published on Canary.