Presenting the most depressing chart you will see today

One third of British people agree with Nigel Farage's recent assertion that a racial slur is not offensive if said by people from a working class background.

A YouGov poll for the Sun newspaper of 1,642 adults found 33 per cent of people thought the words 'chinky' - the use of which recently saw a Ukip PPC dismissed - and 'poofter' were normal language for some people.

During a radio interview last week, Ukip leader Farage said the party's candidate for South Basildon and East Thurrock in Essex, Kerry Smith, "talks in a way a lot of people from that background do".

Smith was blocked from being a candidate after a recording emerged of him using the words "chinky bird" and "poofters", and joking about shooting peasants.

Farage said Smith was a "council house boy" and a "rough diamond".

Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari, he said: "If you and your mates are going out for a Chinese what do you say you are going for?"

The Sun poll found just under half of people thought the word 'chinky' was offensive, while almost two thirds thought the same for 'poofter'.

Interestingly, these proportions of people tally quite evenly with another recent Sun/YouGov poll.

Hm...

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