Inequality at 40-year high
(17 July 2007)

The gap between rich and poor people in Britain has widened, reaching its highest levels in 40 years, according to research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Researchers discovered that the rich have got richer and the poor have got poorer, with wealthier people generally living in areas where they are segregated from the rest of society.

Although there are now more poor households than there were 15 years ago, there are fewer households that would be categorised as 'very poor'. There are also fewer 'average' households.

Danny Dorling, who led the research, said: "Most interesting and certainly unexpected when this work began is the geography of those households who are neither rich nor poor.

"Over time it has become clear that there is less and less room in the south for them; they have either moved elsewhere, or become poor."

A second report looked at people's attitudes to inequality and found that the majority of people consider the gulf between high and low earners to be excessive. However, people are more likely to consider those with high incomes to be overpaid than to believe that lower earners are underpaid.

The report concludes that although there is a general consensus that inequality is a problem, the public do not have a clear solution to resolve the issue.