The Northern Agenda: Mind the income gap
27.06.2022 - 14:41
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
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By DAN O'DONOGHUE - June 27 2022
Levelling up the UK’s cities will require investment that goes “far beyond anything currently being contemplated” by the Government, a think tank has argued.
A report published today by the Resolution Foundation found that differences in income were both “significant” and “persistent”, with only traditionally poorer areas of inner London such as Hackney and Newham significantly improving their position over the last 25 years.
At its most extreme, the report found that income per person in the richest part of the country, Kensington and Chelsea, was 400% higher than income per person in poorer areas such as Hull and Blackburn .
These gaps are reinforced by differences in income from investments. In 2019 for example, residents of Camden received an average of £9,135 from investments, while those in Knowsley – one of the most deprived boroughs in the country – received an average of just £806.
Lindsay Judge, research director at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Britain is beset by huge economic gaps between different parts of the country, and has been for many decades.
"While progress has been made in reducing employment gaps, this has been offset by a surge in investment income among better-off families in London and the South East.
“People care about these gaps and want them closed, as does the Government via its ‘levelling up’ strategy. The key to closing these gaps is to boost the productivity of our major cities outside London, which