For a long, long time many folk in the UK who care about social justice and oppose a dog-eat-dog view of human nature have felt isolated, ignored and alienated. It’s certainly been my life experience. And I know I am not alone.

However, recently it has felt the times they are a-changing. Unexpected voices are getting behind the idea that the neoliberal orthodoxy of austerity, poor quality public services, privatisation, bottom-line economics and low taxation for the wealthy is running out of road.

Last week a surprising report (Prosperity and Justice: A Plan for the New Economy) from the right-leaning think tank the IPPR proved a case in point. Let’s be clear, we’re not talking the usual radical voices for social equality and fairness like the trade unions, Labour Party or concerned charities generally ignored as ‘impractical idealists’ or ‘do-gooders’ . The IPPR commission on economic justice included establishment figures like the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, senior business leaders and economists.

This assembly of the ‘great and good’ is calling for a radical overhaul of the economy as far-reaching as Labour’s post-war reforms, in order to address the UK’s chronic failure to raise the living standards of millions of our fellow citizens since the 2008 financial crash.

They argue the UK is being held back by a business culture dominated by decades of short-term profit taking, feeble levels of investment and an epidemic of low wages. The report’s 73 recommendations include a £1 boost to the minimum wage and the replacement of inheritance tax with a £9bn-a-year “lifetime gifts” tax, as well as increased economic devolution across the UK.

Above all, they argue the shareholder-driven model of capitalism is not fit for purpose and partly to blame for Britain slipping down international league tables for investment and productivity, which measures the output per hour of each worker.

The report paints a grim picture of rising inequality in austerity Britain, revealing the financial health of the nation is divided along the lines of income, geography, gender, ethnicity and age. It ranks the UK as the fifth most unequal country in Europe.

More than a fifth of the population live on incomes below the poverty line after housing costs are taken into account, even though a clear majority of these households are in work. Almost one in three children live in poverty and the use of food banks is a national disgrace.

The IPPC report’s numbers say it all: a sixfold difference between the income of the top 20 per cent of households and those of the bottom 20 per cent. As for wealth inequality, 44 per cent of the UK’s wealth is owned by just 10 per cent of the population, five times the total wealth held by the poorest half.

While welcoming the IPPC’s contribution, personally I don’t think their proposals go far enough. For example, a mere £1 added to an already paltry minimum wage is simply not going to make a difference. Lest we forget, when we talk about work, we mean people’s lives, their one time on this earth. Common decency insists they should be adequately rewarded. There will always be some differentials in pay – that is inevitable and desirable, if not taken to the current, grotesque extremes. But so many people today are trapped in poverty by low wages that even a minimum wage of £10 seems like it should be a stepping stone to something fairer.

I would also argue economic reform is going to involve a lot more state intervention to undo the damage caused by the culture of short-term profiteering and low investment highlighted by the IPPC. Renewing our declining transport and urban infrastructure – especially the chronic lack of affordable housing – as well as creating whole new industries to promote renewable energy, offer a chance for high skilled, high pay employment opportunities.

I sincerely hope the IPPC report indicates a new consensus is forming in society, much like the consensus that led to our wonderful NHS and compassionate welfare state after WW2. But that depends on us all. Change is coming, but only if we choose politicians willing to make it work for everyone, not just a privileged elite.