Page 11 | New poll finds only privileged people will vote for Labour - but why?

ProudAmberTurtle · 2026-05-02T12:49:24+00:00

This is a new IPSOS poll. It finds that among the least well off in society, support for Labour has collapsed - it's now just 10%. Even among people who are 'just about coping' financially, they're a distant fourth in the polls, and would be wiped out if it was just them voting. But - here's what might be surprising - among wealthy people they are first in the polls, in fact their lead is so big that if only rich people could vote, it would be a landslide for Labour. Any thoughts as to why it is now that only the most privileged people in society are voting Labour? [[https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2026-04/Ipsos%20Apr%202026_Political%20Monitor%20charts_Public.pdf https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2026-04/Ipsos%20Apr%202026_Political%20Monitor%20charts_Public.pdf]]

RedTagAlan · 03/05/2026 15:18

@ProudAmberTurtle

Re that migration watch report. This bit :" Migrants compete with existing workers in the UK for jobs, but they also cause the number of jobs to increase"

That makes sense. And we are seeing it in the US just now. A cut in migration has forced the Trump admin to relax the agriculture visa requirements. So the job numbers are going up as these visas are processed.

I think of it this way. Go to a supermarket, and you might see a lot of low paid migrants. But the supermarket might only be there because there is a pool of migrant workers. The same with farming. If a farmer has a pool of low cost labour, then they can grow higher value labour intensive crops. No labour pool, and they will grow lower labour intensive crops that a farmer and a tractor can deal with.

SomethingFun · 03/05/2026 15:32

Regardless of who gets in the country is fucked. We can’t afford a high cost, high tax but low wage economy. And I don’t just mean the people being topped up by UC. I’m a high earner but if I was doing my job in a Western European country or the US I would be being paid a lot more. Wages are low in the UK because it’s the only way we are vaguely competitive but it’s unsustainable.

I think we need more social housing so at least rent money goes back to the state but we would also need a state builder because private companies rinse any contracts they get and local authorities are corrupt and give those same contracts to whoever has greased their palm. The nhs has to be changed and people have to start contributing financially to their healthcare and start looking after themselves so they cost less to patch up. Families need to be only having the kids they can afford and absent fathers should be paying a fair amount, fewer people should be receiving benefits and benefits should be increased for those with severe illnesses and disabilities so those people can have a better quality of life. We also need more jobs and even if a job isn’t quite what someone had in mind, it needs to be socially unacceptable to not work if you are able and also socially unacceptable to not be contributing to the pot - whether you’re a cash in hand dog walker or a billionaire.

Amiacoolorwarmcolour · 03/05/2026 15:35

Blahblahblahabla · 03/05/2026 11:04

I am talking about all lower end jobs, and businesses too. Just because you are a xyz and hire yourself doesn’t make you devoid of the ripple effect of that.

Further than that I am just talking generally. The country has become rapidly more multicultural the past few decades and less cohesive, and less affluent. I am not saying that’s cause and effect. But that’s what people see.

I think people need to stop taking this so personally and we do need to have discussions and conversations on good faith. Unfortunately it’s actually getting worse in this regard because whilst many are actually opening up to having conversations now; actual racist people are now emboldened with the rise of the right. & Normal people don’t want to associate with that so the normal part of this conversation no one wants to have or be associated with which leaves people to act privately at the ballot box.

And to clarify again so there’s absolutely no confusion about what I am saying:
There’s nothing wrong or racist about being unhappy about the town you were born and grew up in becoming increasingly non British. Recognisably so. In the shops, in your workplace, in the schools, in the A&E waiting room. Poorer people are more likely to have been born, live, work and die in the same communities. They are more likely to see this change.

That doesn’t mean I don’t like the kind Sikh man who owns the corner shop, or my polish window cleaners or my non British friends. Or my non British colleagues. It’s not a personal thing. It’s a cumulative thing.

And no I am not going to vote reform. They are clearly racist to me, so much so I fear they will actually go down the eugenics route and ban abortion to try to get the white population up again. But lots of people don’t think that. And there’s a large portion of our society who whether we like it or not have this as such a single issue point who have repeatedly voted against immigration for over a decade now that it’s clear they are quite willing to take us all to hell in a hand basket in an attempt to resolve it.

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You make a valid point.

CircleComplete · 03/05/2026 15:46

ConstantlyPeeing · 03/05/2026 14:03

I absolutely agree with your post re leadership but do you really think KS is a strong leader? He has made lots of U turns and does not seem able to make tough decisions at all. He has also increased welfare and given pay rises to train drivers for one (which seemed strange to me) in a time where the UK pays out more each month than it brings in. Not a good position to be in.

I thought he was right to means test the WFA for pensioners but then he u-turned on it. This type of thing has lost him credibility.

If I saw him recognising the financial hole we are in and slowly but steadily start fixing it then I would be okay with him only making baby steps. This does not seem to be happening at all though.

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Yes I do think he is a strong leader and certainly stronger than Boris Johnson or Nigel Farage.

He has brought stability. He is factually clear.
He is not interested in being a ‘personality’.
U-turns aren’t a bad thing. It takes a strong leader to listen and back down. We are not infallible all of the time.
He is careful and diplomatic. Handling Trump, without drama, has been a good option.
It isn’t about him (unlike BJ,NF) it is about trying for the greater good.

He is making difficult decisions, constantly. Decisions that have to be based on sound legal and financial information. It has to happen.

It is so much easier for all of the other party leaders to admonish him and to make claims about what they are going to do…except they don’t have to.
i

Fluffyholeysocks · 03/05/2026 15:54

CircleComplete · 03/05/2026 15:46

Yes I do think he is a strong leader and certainly stronger than Boris Johnson or Nigel Farage.

He has brought stability. He is factually clear.
He is not interested in being a ‘personality’.
U-turns aren’t a bad thing. It takes a strong leader to listen and back down. We are not infallible all of the time.
He is careful and diplomatic. Handling Trump, without drama, has been a good option.
It isn’t about him (unlike BJ,NF) it is about trying for the greater good.

He is making difficult decisions, constantly. Decisions that have to be based on sound legal and financial information. It has to happen.

It is so much easier for all of the other party leaders to admonish him and to make claims about what they are going to do…except they don’t have to.
i

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It's a shame the rest of the PLP don't see him as you do.

EasternStandard · 03/05/2026 15:54

Fluffyholeysocks · 03/05/2026 15:54

It's a shame the rest of the PLP don't see him as you do.

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I don’t think many do anymore.

Pasithean · 03/05/2026 16:03

Will be spoiling my paper again.

vagnotwhatitwas · 03/05/2026 16:11

SylvanMoon · 02/05/2026 14:59

Labour deserves to be wiped out. They've been doing absolutely nothing to help lift those poorer areas or work within the communities and nationally nothing to help poorer individuals cope with this CoL continued tsunami. This election should be a kick up the bum for Labour, but as the national party is full of greasy pole careerists, I don't expect them to learn any useful lessons from it.

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Increasing in the national minimum wage and lifting the two child benefit cap are just two things they have done for those living in poorer areas. They can't do much about price rises caused by overseas wars.

SylvanMoon · 03/05/2026 16:25

vagnotwhatitwas · 03/05/2026 16:11

Increasing in the national minimum wage and lifting the two child benefit cap are just two things they have done for those living in poorer areas. They can't do much about price rises caused by overseas wars.

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They only lifted the 2-child cap under protest when it became clear that it was an "election liability". Nothing to do with their sense of concern for families and children living in poverty. Increasing the MW is the least they should be doing, but they're undoing that by creating a scarcity in the job market by everything else they're putting on employers. And they can stop supporting those overseas wars to help not prolong them by not selling weapons to aggressors.

selffellatingouroborosofhate · 03/05/2026 18:13

SylvanMoon · 03/05/2026 16:25

They only lifted the 2-child cap under protest when it became clear that it was an "election liability". Nothing to do with their sense of concern for families and children living in poverty. Increasing the MW is the least they should be doing, but they're undoing that by creating a scarcity in the job market by everything else they're putting on employers. And they can stop supporting those overseas wars to help not prolong them by not selling weapons to aggressors.

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If we didn't sell arms, someone else would instead. It is some income for us.

bittertwisted · 03/05/2026 23:51

TheLandlordsAreFrowning · 02/05/2026 20:10

One of the flaws in your argument is that benefit claimants are actually more likely to support Reform than Labour. Plenty of research out there if you Google.

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Exactly
everyone I know who claims Benefits is absolutely a reform voter
they are completely oblivious to a small state cutting benefits