Is inequality rising or falling?
The government’s optimistic claim is probably false
WITH weak GDP growth and falling real wages, the government does not have much to shout about on the economic front. Ministers, however, have one choice boast. It may defy popular belief but Theresa May, the prime minister, says that “inequality has been reduced to its lowest level in 30 years.” Philip Hammond, the chancellor, likes to wheel out this figure whenever he can. He may do so again on March 13th when he delivers his spring statement, a half-yearly update on the economy, to Parliament. But there is one problem with the government’s claim: it may not be true.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Some more equal than others”
Britain March 10th 2018
- In Britain’s Russian spy mystery, clues point to Moscow
- The EU rejects Theresa May’s “pick ’n’ mix” Brexit plan
- Saudi Arabia launches a charm offensive in Britain
- Britain’s EU migrants get a first chance to vote since the referendum
- Rough sleeping in England has more than doubled
- Is inequality rising or falling?
- British athletes may have won thanks to drugs, a report suggests
- It could happen in Britain
From the March 10th 2018 edition
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