Workers' Liberty

The latest figures from the British Social Attitudes Survey show that while people have become more liberal on social issues such as gay rights, there has been a rightward drift on economic questions.

• Whereas, in 2002, 63% of people surveyed thought that governments should increase taxes to fund greater public spending, that figure is now down to 39%. The majority believing that both taxation and spending levels should be kept as they are (which will make neither the Tories nor New Labour, both of whom have extensive cuts projects, particularly confident).

• While in 1998, less than 10% of people though that it was “not worth voting”, that figure is now up to 18%, with 25% of people not declaring a party affiliation or saying that they don't know which party to support.

• The 36% of people who believe that “sexual relations between two adults of the same sex are mostly/always wrong” is still worryingly high, but that this figure is down from 64% in 1993 is very positive.