Britons with Caribbean origins, more so than other blacks, believe that Labour isn't working for them the view is widely held within the black community and across all age groups, a Voice poll has shown.

Sixty-eight per cent of blacks questioned in the March survey agreed that the party, for whom they traditionally vote, should be doing more to earn their backing, having for too long taken their support for granted. Thirty one per cent of the people 'strongly agreed', against 37 per cent who agreed without the additional emphasis.

When the data are broken down by ethnic origins, 71 per cent of blacks with West Indian backgrounds supported the position that their backing of the Labour party was being taken for granted, with the view held evenly among ethnic Jamaicans and other Caribbeans. That was 10 percentage points more than the 61 per cent of Britons of direct African heritage who felt this way.

Among those characterised as United Kingdom blacks, meaning those whose grandparents at least were born in this country, 66 per cent agreed with the proposition that their vote is taken for granted by Labour.

Similar views

The view was statistically even among men (68 per cent) and women (67 per cent) and was at its highest in the 35-44 age group, of which 75 per cent said that Labour should be doing more for their support.

In the 18-24 and 55-and-over age groups, 65 per cent held this position, five percentage points higher than those in the 45-54 age group, who said that Labour takes them for granted.

Significantly, the view was strongest in Manchester, where 81 per cent of blacks were of the view that Labour rested on its laurels regarding their support, 10 percentage points more than in Luton, the next city where the view is most prevalent.

In London, the position is held by 67 per cent of blacks, with the sense of estrangement strongest in the Croydon area where the view was held by 74 per cent of the black population, with the city's south-east region not far behind.