White working class boys are being left behind because of the “negative impact” of a focus on ethnic minorities and women, a member of Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet has said.

Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, said cultural change is needed among Britain’s white working class to encourage more young people to strive to succeed.

She told The Spectator magazine white working class boys had been left “at the bottom of the heap”.

She said: “The culture towards migrant families towards education is considerably different to the culture of British families, that’s something I’ve noticed.

“I’m from a white working class background, our culture – and I think that’s why white working class boys aren’t doing so well at the moment.