More low-income voters backed Tories than Labour for the first time in 2019 election, research finds

Anti-poverty think tank now calls on government to concentrate on helping deprived areas hit hard by Covid-19, writes Jon Sharman

‘Both parties have inverted their traditional support base,’ say researchers (Getty/PA)

Boris Johnson’s landslide electoral victory last year was achieved with significant help from low-income voters, new analysis has found.

The Conservatives managed to create a 15-point lead over Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour among poorer Britons in 2019 – and were even more popular among that group than among wealthier people.

A report commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) concluded that “the Conservatives are no longer the party of the rich, while Labour is no longer the party of the poor”.