The new working class

There are millions of voters out there who have been ignored, abandoned and misunderstood.

But they could hold the key to winning the next general election. 

They are, according to Claire Ainsley, the new working class.

This new demographic is different to the traditional working class. 

They are people on low to middle incomes, working in insecure and low paid jobs such as catering and retail and more likely to rent than own their homes.

This new working class is multi-ethnic and geographically diverse. What they have in common is their needs have been overlooked by politicians.

In the latest Ayes to the Left podcast Ainsley, who works for the Joseph Rountree Foundation, talks to the Mirror’s Head of Politics Jason Beattie on why politicians of all parties need to reach out to the new working class.

She says they are driven by strong values - family, fairness, hard work and decency - but they have been left behind by successive governments.

And she sets out the policies which would make a real difference to the lives of millions of people in Britain.