Almost twice as many voluntary sector workers voted Labour as Conservative, according to a poll of people who voted in the general election, conducted by Lord Ashcroft.

The survey of 12,000 people include 405 sector workers. It found that 160 of them - 40 per cent - voted for Labour while 95 - 23 per cent - voted Conservative.

The Green Party came third with 12 per cent of the vote. The Liberal Democrats received 9 per cent, Ukip received 8 per cent, and the SNP received 6 per cent.

Nationally, the Conservatives received 37 per cent of the vote while Labour received 30 per cent of the vote.

Ashcroft’s poll was collected between 5 and 7 May through computer-assisted telephone interviewing and online fieldwork of 12,000 people.

The number of sector workers voting Labour appears to have fallen slightly, as 41 per cent of people said they had usually voted Labour in previous elections. The number voting Conservatives in last week’s election also fell by 2 per cent, compared to how respondents said they would usually vote.

In response to the question “what are the most important issues for the country as a whole?”, 60 per cent of sector workers said improving the NHS was important, and 56 per cent said getting the economy growing and creating jobs.

Of the total number of people polled who said they voted Labour, 8 per cent worked in the charity and not-for-profit sector. The sector also made up 5 per cent of Conservative voters polled and 7 per cent of Liberal Democrat workers. It made up for 12 per cent of Green voters, 6 per cent of SNP voters and 4 per cent of Ukip voters

Of the 405 sector workers who took part in Ashcroft’s poll, the majority (26 per cent) were between the ages of 45 and 54. Only 5 per cent were 18 to 24, and 6 per cent 65 plus.