Social mobility is in decline in Britain, with more than half of people saying the government is failing to do enough to help the least well off, according to a survey by ministers’ advisory body on life chances.

The poll, by the Social Mobility Commission, found stark regional differences in people’s perceptions of their life prospects, with people in the north-east and north-west of England significantly less optimistic than their southern counterparts

Just under a third of people in the north-east said they felt they had a good chance to get on in life in their own region, compared with 74% of those in the south-east and 78% of Londoners.

The commission said the survey, carried out for its annual social mobility barometer, revealed deep unease in many regions about whether people had the same access to good education, jobs and housing as those living in the more prosperous south.

Dame Martina Milburn, the chair of the commission, said the survey was a call to action for politicians, who should start to reverse “the inequalities of generations” and give people an equal chance in life.

“Regions which have been marginalised for decades should get the investment they need to provide opportunities for young people, so they don’t have to move out to move up,” she said.

Although 63% of people felt they had received a better school education compared with their parents, nearly half said they had a worse standard of living than the previous generation, and only 29% felt they had better job security.

Despite feeling they had good opportunities to progress, Londoners were more likely to say they were worse off than their parents when it came to housing, job security, overall living standards and personal finances.

Young people have a particularly pessimistic outlook, the poll suggests. Only a third of 18- to 24-year-olds said they thought everyone in Britain today had a fair chance to progress, compared with almost half of those aged 65 and over.

Most people of all ages agreed there were fewer opportunities for people from disadvantaged backgrounds to go to a top university or to own their own home compared with their better-off peers.

Other findings include:

Of those surveyed, 44% agreed that where a person ends up in society was largely determined by their background. Only 35% felt that everyone had a fair chance to get on.

The majority of people (77%) felt there was a large gap between the social classes in Britain, a finding that has not changed from previous years, suggesting it is a deeply entrenched view.

Twice as many middle-class people (50%) felt their background gave them an advantage in their education (50%), career choice and career progression, than working-class people (22%).

The shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, said the findings were unsurprising. “For the last nine years, Tory-led austerity has had a devastating impact throughout the country,” she said. “We need real change and meaningful policies. Ministers must focus on securing social justice for all, rather than a leg-up for a few.”

The Social Mobility Barometer was based on a poll just under 5,000 people carried out online by YouGov in March 2019.