Wealth is growing but only a small percentage of well-paid, highly-skilled workers are benefiting. A report by the Centre for Cities think tank last week identified Cambridge as the least equal city in the UK for the second year in a row.
The top 6% of earners who live in Cambridge take home 19% of the total income generated by residents, while the bottom 20% of people account for just 2% of the total.
Paul Swinney, head of research and policy at Centre for Cities. “ One reason Cambridge is so unequal, compared with other cities, is because it has a much greater share of highly-paid, high-skilled jobs. The question for policymakers is: does everyone in Cambridge have the skills and opportunities to access those jobs?”
Around 61,000 people work in the so-called “silicon fen”, the cluster of 4,700 tech and life science firms in Cambridge that turned over £12bn last year. Amazon, ARM and Apple have all recently expanded their headquarters to the city and a new railway station, Cambridge North, opened last year near the science park owned by Trinity College.
The top 6% of earners who live in Cambridge take home 19% of the total income generated by residents, while the bottom 20% of people account for just 2% of the total.
Paul Swinney, head of research and policy at Centre for Cities. “ One reason Cambridge is so unequal, compared with other cities, is because it has a much greater share of highly-paid, high-skilled jobs. The question for policymakers is: does everyone in Cambridge have the skills and opportunities to access those jobs?”
Around 61,000 people work in the so-called “silicon fen”, the cluster of 4,700 tech and life science firms in Cambridge that turned over £12bn last year. Amazon, ARM and Apple have all recently expanded their headquarters to the city and a new railway station, Cambridge North, opened last year near the science park owned by Trinity College.
john Bird, founder of The Big Issue, has lived in Cambridge for the past 10 years and has observed the city becoming more divided as it has become wealthier. “I’ve witnessed a vast increase in the number of chain shops and poncified cafes and gift shops, which have changed the character of the city,” he said. “I see the university as a force for social separation, bringing in scientists and digital workers from all over the world, so developers build houses for students, while local people are priced out.”
Dr Ewan Jones, a Cambridge University lecturer, explained, “The area is so gentrified now there is no way I could have afforded to buy here otherwise – and I know there is a lot of resentment about that among my neighbours who have lived here a long time. There are local delis and cafes I go to they can’t afford to buy food in.” He added, “Academics in Cambridge are protected by the wealth of the university. In some way, it acts as a surrogate state. But it only helps a tiny number of people – and those are not the people most in need.”
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