Britain's Establishment exposed as dramatically Left-wing in landmark survey

Britain's establishment has been exposed for its Left-wing bias in a groundbreaking survey examining their views on politics, free speech, the empire and racism.

The explosive study - drawing on interviews with 2,295 members of the establishment, spanning civil servants and academics to judges, medical professionals and military - reveals they are more likely to have voted for Left-of-centre parties, backed remaining in the EU and questioned whether capitalism is best for society.

Those in positions of power are also more likely to be ashamed of Britain's imperial past, believe that free speech can hurt minorities and damage society and think that racism in Britain is a major problem. The news comes as this latest China spying bombshell could spell Keir Starmer's doom.

Farage blasts out of touch establishment

Responding to the findings, Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said: "The establishment is more out of touch with the country than ever before and needs wholesale reform."

Electoral Calculus and Find Out Now conducted the damning research. Participants were divided into three subsets - the "lecturing" class, made up of academics, teachers and culture and media workers; the "professional" class, including civil servants, lawyers, judges and medics; and the "security" class, comprising police and members of the Armed Forces.

Three quarters backed Left-wing parties

Three-quarters (75 per cent) of the establishment voted for Left-of-centre parties against 54 per cent of the general public.

The proportion rocketed to 81 per cent for the lecturing class of teachers, academics and culture workers, with the professionals also more Left-wing than the general public. The security class was, however, more Right-wing.

Two-thirds wanted to remain in EU

Two-thirds of the establishment who revealed their views on Brexit said they had voted to remain in the EU. The percentage leapt to three-quarters among the lecturing class. That compared with the 48 per cent of the public who backed staying in the EU.

More than a third ashamed of imperial past

More than a third (37 per cent) of the members of the establishment agreed that Britain and other Western countries should be ashamed of their imperial past.

The number rose to 44 per cent among the lecturing class, compared with just 27 per cent of the general public and just three per cent of the police and military.

Nearly half say free speech damages society

Nearly half of the establishment (46 per cent) said freedom of speech was often used to hurt minorities and damage society, rising to 55 per cent among the lecturing class and 44 per cent among the professional group.

By contrast, 39 per cent of the public believed it was the case.

Just 15 per cent back capitalism

Fewer than one in six (15 per cent) of the establishment believed that capitalism was the best way to create a functioning society, compared to 22 per cent of the public.

Two-thirds (66 per cent) of the establishment believed racism in Britain was a major problem for society, compared with 52 per cent of the public. It rose to 71 per cent among the lecturing class.

Nearly half want more ethnic minority support

Nearly half (47 per cent) of the establishment believed more should be done to support members of ethnic minority groups, compared with 30 per cent among the general public. It rose to 61 per cent among the lecturing class.

More than a third (35 per cent) of the establishment believed that people who identified as women were women, rising to 39 per cent among the lecturing class.

This compared with only 25 per cent among the general public who agreed, and 57 per cent who disagreed.

No longer small 'c' conservative group

Researchers weighted the data to work out how far to the Left each group was, taking zero degrees as the national centre.

Their findings showed that, when comparing political leanings, Britain's establishment sat clearly to the Left of the general public, averaging 20 degrees Left of the national centre.

Among those surveyed, the lecturing class, which includes teachers, professors and cultural workers, leaned 32 degrees Left of the general population, putting them well beyond the average voter and matching the position of Labour voters in last year's general election, who sit at 33 degrees Left of centre.

"In other words, the lecturing class has similar political attitudes to what you would expect if they only hired Labour voters exclusively," said the report.

Major shift in establishment politics

Martin Baxter, the chief executive of Electoral Calculus, said the findings suggested there had been a major political shift in the establishment, adding: "Our survey of the establishment shows that it is no longer the small 'c' conservative group of old, and is now on the progressive Left of British society.

"Those in teaching and the media particularly are significantly to the Left of centre politically. If Reform UK were to form a government, expect some sparks to fly as the establishment intelligentsia react to ideas which are a very long way from their ideological centre."