Ukip election candidates less likely to be university graduates

The UK Independence party’s general election candidates are less likely to have attended university or had a professional career than those from either of the two main parties, research shows.

The study, published on Thursday by the Sutton Trust social mobility charity, examined the educational background of candidates across the party spectrum in advance of May’s general election.

It found that 31 per cent of new candidates calculated to have a “reasonable chance” of winning were privately educated, slightly below the 33 per cent figure among current MPs. By comparison, just 7 per cent of the UK population has attended a private school.

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