Commons leader Peter Hain has repeated calls for the government to focus more on "redistribution".

His comments come just weeks after he withdrew a suggestion that higher earners should pay more tax.

Then the prime minister personally rejected his proposals. "Tax policy is not going to change," Tony Blair said.

Hain, who is also Welsh secretary, told BBC Newsnight on Thursday that social justice needed to be at the heart of New Labour's agenda.

"We've got to be much clearer that we really are committed to social justice, we really are committed to redistribution of wealth and income, that we really are trying to narrow the gap between those at the top and those at the bottom."

But it had to be done in a way "that doesn't create the kind of Old Labour agenda that's economically unsuccessful and ran Labour out of power," he said. "That is the challenge."

"We can be less worried about alienating, if you like, middle Britain because middle Britain understands and has confidence in our agenda," he added.

The government needed to be "more concerned to really project our values of social justice and commitment to democracy, commitment to liberty, these values which people do want to hear us preach more strongly".