Two reports in as many days point to the continuing erosion the the post War social democratic consensus in Britain. The National Centre for Social Research got undreamed of publicity for its findings that society is becoming more tolerant of gays and lesbians. “Over a third (36%) of people think that sexual relations between two adults of the same sex are ‘always’ or ‘mostly’ wrong, down from nearly two thirds a quarter of a century ago (62%) in 1983. Around the same proportion (39%) think it is ‘not wrong at all’.” It had nothing to say on the rise in homophobic attacks or the commonplace use of homophobic language but perhaps that report will be published next week.

Much more concerning are its data which seem to show that neo-liberal values are gaining a real grip on mass consciousness. The authors say ”only two in five people (39%) now support increased taxes and spending on health and education,the lowest level since 1984 and down from 62% in 1997.” They add that “support for redistribution from the better off to those who are less well off has dropped markedly. Fewer than two in five (38%) now think the government should redistribute income from the better off to those who are less well off, down from half (51%) in 1994.” In a nasty Thatcherite echo “a minority of one in five (21%) think unemployment benefits are too low and cause hardship, compared with over half (53%) in 1994.”

Here’s the punch line: “The shift to the right has occurred mainly among Labour supporters in the wake of the changed stance taken by their party. For example, since 1994, the belief that government should redistribute income has fallen among Labour supporters from two thirds (68%) to half (49%). Among Conservative supporters, in contrast, attitudes have barely shifted at all (from 26% to 24%).” As if that were not bad enough “more people now identify themselves as Conservative supporters (32%) than say they are Labour (27%) for the first time since 1989.”

What on earth could explain this shift in people’s thinking? The National Equality Panel offers a lot of the answers even if its preface is written by über New Labourite Harriet Harman who, and this may be a surprise to many, is  Minister for Women and Equality. Harman sets out her neo-liberal stall in the first few lines with the unresounding declaration of intent that  “We are determined to tackle the unfairness that holds people back and give everyone the opportunity to succeed – make sure everyone has a fair chance.” All that is missing is Hallmark style drivel about following your dreams and if you wish hard enough they will come true. She omits to mention that she is a prominent figure in a government that was elected in 1997 and offers no comparison with her own party’s post war record.

Let’s cherry pick some of New Labour’s achievements after thirteen years.

• 10 per cent of workers have wages below £5.50 an hour
• 10 per cent have earnings below £240 a week
• A third of social housing tenants are in poverty.
• Britain reached the highest level of income inequality since the second world war in 2007-8.
• By comparison with other developed nations, earnings and income inequality in the UK are now high

Plough through to page 328 and you find the sentence that sums up the whole transformation in British society. “For most of the professions, the difference between their families’ income and the average grew substantially between those born in 1958 and those born in 1970.” The same idea is expressed slightly differently  on page 329. “ The earnings in their early thirties of those born in 1970 are more closely associated with the income level of their parents when they were growing up than was the case for those born in the late 1950s. In this sense, ‘social mobility’ has declined.”

This confirms what has been obvious for a long time. If you were lucky enough to be born into a working class family in the late 50s or the 1960s you had a chance to get to university and not necessarily to into the same line of work as your father. The degree courses which working class kids are offered today are geared to giving them a quick vocational qualification which, if they are lucky, enables them to work in a series of jobs with no union rights, limited security of employment while paying off a monstrous debt. A debt that New Labour dreamed up specially for them to lug around while trying to “fulfil their potential and achieve their aspirations” as Harman puts it.

It was Labour’s post War programme of house building, providing access to health and free education to its working class supporters that earned it the fierce tribal loyalty it once commanded. As sure as the earth turns this base will fall away from the party as it continues to remain “intensely relaxed” about speculators and bankers making themselves rich beyond imagination while one person in ten is making £5.50 an hour. There is absolutely no sign within Labour that a credible challenge exists to its continuing embrace of neo-liberalism and the Equality Panel’s report confirms that the party’s support for increased inequality has been a longstanding strategic choice of all its potential leaderships.