IT IS, perhaps, significant that just as legislation to cut the age of homosexual consent to 16 is overwhelmingly approved for the third time in the Labour-dominated House of Commons, support for the government falls to its lowest point of below 50 per cent for the first time.

It is not that Labour backing for gay rights has triggered this departure in itself - though the evidence is that the government is going against most voters' views on legalising gay sex at 16 and on repealing the Section 28 law banning the promotion of homosexuality in schools.

Rather, it is what is revealed behind the four per cent fall in its popularity.

It would seem the public feel the government has much more important matters to attend to such as health, education, transport and crime.

Additionally it is now considered to be failing to deliver improvement on all but education, which, according to today's Gallup poll, is deemed to be only marginally better.

Indeed, the levels of dissatisfaction on these key issues are quite high. For instance, more than 70 per cent, including a majority of Labour voters, say that the government is failing to improve the NHS, and around two-thirds say it is also failing to deliver on public transport and crime.

But as the government presses on, often clearly at odds with mainstream opinion, with matters that are secondary concerns in the voters' view - such as gay rights, reform of the House of Lords and proportional representation - while not living up to its promises on issues that are important, it risks a backlash.

And, indeed, it seems to have triggered one.

But it should worry doubly when not only voters generally begin to see it as being out of touch, but its own supporters start to feel this as well and ask what Labour should stand for.

The small rumble of discontent contained in junior minister Peter Kilfoyle's recent resignation on this very point should cause the leadership and its spin doctors some concern.

The even louder rumble coming from today's opinion-poll verdict should cause even more - and a reassessment of priorities and values.

Labour cannot be complacent, for even with its massive majority and the Tories still failing to benefit from this slide, it loses touch with the electorate and its concerns at its peril.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.