This century has witnessed a populist revolt against long-dominant political parties across the democratic world. It’s rooted in working-class discontent with sweeping economic and cultural changes that have bred a profound sense of social dislocation and insecurity.
This phenomenon challenges governing parties of the left and right. But it poses a special test to the U.S. Democrats and other center-left and progressive parties that have traditionally championed the economic prospects and moral outlook of traditional working people.
The new populists offer working-class voters a refuge in old ideas: ethnic nationalism, nativism and protectionism. Conservative parties have tried to compete by co-opting these themes. Liberal and progressive parties have deplored the populists’ illiberal and antidemocratic tendencies while failing to grasp their valid concerns and fears of not being heard.
The Progressive Policy Institute believes America and other liberal democracies need a reinvigorated center-left to turn back the tide of reactionary nationalism that has swept much of the world over the past decade. In January 2023, we launched a new Center-Left Renewal Project headed by Claire Ainsley, formerly a top policy advisor to UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer.
As it happens, both Labour and the Democrats face crucial national elections next year. While allowing for significant differences in political structure and culture, reconnecting with their historical working-class base is an electoral and moral imperative for both parties.
To help them frame more effective appeals to working-class voters (broadly defined as those without four-year college degrees) the Project commissioned from YouGov public opinion surveys in the United Kingdom and the United States. The former is found in Claire Ainsley’s report, Roadmap to Hope, which was released in October at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.
This U.S.-focused companion report, Winning Back Working America, has two parts: a national survey of 860 non-college voters and oversamples of working-class opinion in seven 2024 presidential or Senate battleground states: Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Nevada. The interviews were conducted between Oct. 17 and Nov. 6.
Here are some of the key findings of our poll, followed by the national sample. The state oversamples and crosstabs are available on request.
