The majority of Britain believes it is “middle class” according to new research.

Almost three quarters of the population believe they are entitled to the social status, according to a study by research company BritainThinks.

The study suggests that the working class is fast disappearing with only 24 per cent of the population making claim to the title.

According to the reports authors, manual workers have a pride in their status but feel as though their group is disenfranchised.

Those questioned who classified themselves as working class identified a group below them as the “wrong’un class”, “rotten class” or “chav class” – who could not be described as working class because they are not in employment.

“Working class used to be a choice - work with your hands, do an honest day’s work, be unpretentious, play football. Now working class tends to just mean poor,” the report’s authors told the newspaper.

The term working class “used to be a badge of pride, but not any more for most people who still call themselves working class”, said Deborah Mattinson, founder of BritainThinks.

BritainThinks questioned 2,000 adults in focus groups in Rotherham and Basildon assess how the people of Britain class themselves.

The 71 per cent who claimed they were middle class were made up of seven per cent who said they were upper middle class, 43 per cent who were middle class and 21 per cent who were lower middle.