Downing Street has used secret briefings to tell MPs that the party is now toxic to many non-white voters

Theresa May’s hardline stance on immigration has been blamed for Tory support among ethnic minority voters falling to its lowest level since 2001.

Downing Street has used secret briefings to tell MPs that the party is now toxic to many non-white voters.

Private polling shows that while black and minority ethnic (BME) people have the same values as the rest of the country they are far less likely to vote Conservative.

Concern about the BME vote has been raised by Gavin Barwell, the prime minister’s chief of staff, during presentations to MPs in the past two weeks. “It was really gloomy,” said one MP. Another said: “We made big strides under Cameron. For reasons of image, not policy, it seems to have gone backwards.” A