Huge rise in average income inequality between south-east England and rest of the UK, study finds
Yet more evidence of how divided we have become as a society….
The report was funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, whose chief executive Campbell Robb described the findings as “alarming”.
The analysis showed:
- Average incomes in the south of England (excluding London) and Scotland have grown faster than in Britain as a whole over the last 40 years.
- Southern England is now 13 per cent above the national average, compared to 7 per cent in the 1970s.
- One in four poor children live in the most deprived 10 per cent of local authorities.
- Inequality remains lower than before the Great Recession, with the main reduction between 2007-8 and 2011-12 due to rising benefit income and falling real earnings.
- But income inequality is likely to increase over the coming years if earnings grow and planned benefits cuts “significantly reduce the incomes of low-income working age households”.
The Midlands has suffered particularly badly, the report showed. Having had slightly higher incomes than average in the mid 1970s, average incomes in the East and West Midlands are now 6 per cent and 9 per cent below the national average respectively.
Mr Robb said: “These alarming figures highlight how far behind some parts of the UK have fallen, with millions of people seeing their incomes stagnate or even worse decline. Rebalancing our lopsided economy must be a priority if we are to create a country that works for all.
“Average incomes in the Midlands, Wales and the north of England have fallen further behind the rest of the country. Low earnings are an increasingly important driver of poverty, with the proportion of children in poverty in working households rising sharply in recent years.
“The Government must make urgent progress with its industrial strategy, working across party times to deliver a plan that drives up skills and productivity across the country. That will deliver more and better jobs and higher living standards that people desperately need.”