LABOUR were warned to wake up to working-class alienation yesterday as polling showed poorer voters are most likely to turn to divisive Ukip policies in desperation for change. 

An Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) survey showed 68 per cent of white working-class people believed that Britain’s political system was not working for them — 9 per cent more than middle and upper-class voters. 

The YouGov poll of more than 3,500 people also found 13 per cent more working-class people support reducing immigration. 

IPPR associate director Phoebe Griffith explained shifting attitudes among middle and upper-class voters meant the same concerns were shared across classes.

She said: “Rather than chastise the white working class for being fearful of change, we must recognise that change fuelled by mass migration or economic restructuring can be deeply unsettling. 

“This is true not just for an alienated white minority, but for all British people.”

But the poll showed that working-class people were less likely to be satisfied by services, trust politicians or be hopeful for the future. 

And Hope Not Hate spokesman Simon Cressy said it provides the latest evidence that disaffected working people were protesting against “carbon copy” Westminster politics and parties. 

He told the Morning Star: “The three main parties need to stop mimicking and echoing Ukip and trying to tailor their policies to mirror what Ukip are saying.

“They appear to be carbon copies of each other and it’s turning people off, especially the working class.”

Mr Cressy said the Scottish referendum showed how politicians can bypass scaremongering to inspire working-class people again. 

“The ordinary working man in the street should be encouraged to take part in political debate,” said Hope Not Hate’s Ukip expert. 

“It’s down to the Labour Party to take a lead in ending that alienation.”

The poll found support for the foundations of Britain’s welfare state — free public health care and education — has endured among working-class voters. 

Sixty-five per cent believe the NHS meets their needs and half feel the same about education despite a belief that opportunities still depend on “privilege.”