Almost half of people polled feel the UK has become less fair since the 2010 election

A majority of people believe the gap between the richest Britons and the rest of the country has a corrosive effect on society and the economy, and almost half believe the UK has become less fair since the last election, according to a poll.

The survey, one of the most significant attempts to gauge the public mood about fairness and inequality under the coalition, found significant support for statutory maximum pay ratios to prevent company executives earning more than 65 times the salary of the lowest-paid employee in their company. It was backed by 65%, with only 16% against. This idea even won clear majority support – 57% to 26% – among those who voted Conservative in 2010.

The study, carried out by YouGov for the Centre for Labour and Social Studies (Class), a trade union-funded thinktank set up in 2012, found 47% of people think the country has become less fair under the coalition; 12% think it is fairer and 31% believe there has been no change.

These figures are especially striking for people who voted Liberal Democrat in 2010: a mere 6% believe the coalition co-run by their party has overseen increased fairness, with 60% thinking the opposite.

Asked whether the gap between the richest and the rest had brought about “a negative effect on British society”, almost two-thirds of those polled said it had and fewer than a quarter disagreeing. A small majority, 51%, said they felt this gap had negative effects on the economy, with 32% thinking the opposite.

Steve Hart, the chair of Class, said the poll was “a wake-up call for political parties to take the issue of fairness seriously in the runup to the next election”, saying Labour in particular should see the issue as a vote winner.

He said: “A majority of the UK public believes the gap between the rich and the poor is bad for society and the economy. It’s time for politicians to put forward how they are going to tackle widening inequality in Britain. Policies that narrow the gap between the rich and the poor have clear popular support.”

The poll found strong backing for the abolition of private schools’ charitable status if the extra tax income was used to improve the education of deprived students – 55% supported this, with just 16% disagreeing.

Those who voted Conservative in 2010 backed the measure by 40% to 29%.

Asked separately whether they felt a series of measures would be useful in reducing the gap between rich and poor in Britain – though not specifically if they backed them – a majority indicated faith in the effectiveness of raising the minimum wage to living wage levels, increasing income tax for earnings above £150,000, closing tax loopholes, a mansion tax on properties worth £2m or more and free childcare for under sixes.

However, the survey of 1,629 people last weekend found no decisive opinion on which party would be most likely to create a fairer country if they took power. Labour was picked by 19%, with 15% naming the Conservatives, 13% picking Ukip, 9% saying Green and 8% opting for the Lib Dems.