A surge in working class support has propelled the Conservative Party to its biggest lead over Labour in the polls since before the snap general election last year.

The Tories were 24 points ahead of Labour when Theresa May called the 2017 election but the Prime Minister was humbled on polling day as she threw away her parliamentary majority.

Labour enjoyed a post-election bounce in support but the Conservatives have recovered and slowly built a lead in recent months with the latest data putting the party seven points ahead, 44 per cent to 37 per cent.

One of the main reasons for the recovery appears to be a reversal in fortunes in how the two parties are viewed by working class voters - a part of the electorate from which the Labour Party has traditionally drawn much of its support.

In January, some 46 per cent of C2DE voters backed Labour compared to 35 per cent for the Tories, according to YouGov.