Wide Inequality

 Benefit cuts imposed by the Conservatives since 2010 pushed up child poverty before the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report warning that poorer families are also among the most exposed to the cost of living crisis, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said.

Relative child poverty rose to the highest level since 2007 immediately before Covid-19 hit, as the incomes of poorer families with children fell further behind due to austerity.

It said the relative poverty rate – defined as the fraction of people with an income below 60% of the national median – increased from 27% of all households in 2013 to 31% in 2019, just before the pandemic struck.

It said child poverty rose at significantly faster rates for larger families with three or more children, with a rise from 34% to 47% over the same time period.

Also, the Centre for Cities thinktank said a study of cities in England and Wales showed the north-south cost of living divide was intensifying regional inequality.

The report showed eight out of the 10 cities with the highest energy costs were in the north, the Midlands and Wales, where workers faced being £340 a year worse off than their counterparts in the south. While the annual inflation rate for the UK stood at 9.1% in May, the Centre for Cities said in Burnley it was 11.5%, 30% higher than the 8.8% in London and Cambridge.

Benefit cuts since 2010 increased UK child poverty in run-up to pandemic, says IFS | UK cost of living crisis | The Guardian

Cost of living crisis widens Britain’s north-south divide by 30% | UK cost of living crisis | The Guardian