Hi Frien…Read more…
Address inequality to protect Black workers against Covid-19, says UNISON
Dave Prentis writes to Boris Johnson urging immediate action on all Public Health England’s recommendations
The article Address inequality to protect Black workers against Covid-19, says UNISON…Read more…
All burned out?
The entire board of the government’s Social Mobility Commission has resigned in protest over Theresa May’s abject failure to deliver on her promise to address the “burning injustice” of inequality….Read more…
‘Unprecedented’
Wages have fallen for the sixth month in a row even as unemployment has dropped to its lowest level in more than 40 years, the latest figures from this week have shown. Wages dropped 0.4 per…Read more…
From North to South, no community deserves to be abandoned
Where you are born should have no say on how your life pans out. But the reality of today’s Britain is different. Regional inequalities persist from birth to childhood, to working life and beyond. The North / South divide is not a myth… Your life is likely to be shorter if you’re from the…Read more…
From a council estate to the Houses of Parliament
When Angela Rayner was growing up she went to her gran’s house for a bath on Sundays because her parents couldn’t always afford hot water. She lived in a council estate in a home with no books and…Read more…
Inequality is falling, but that doesn’t mean we can stop worrying
I was struck by the coincidence of two news items yesterday. On the one hand, the World Economic Forum highlighted rising income inequality as one of four “global risks in 2017” because it threatens social cohesion and democratic societies’ ability to take action on other problems. On the other,…Read more…
Life and death: a tale of inequality
The latest figures for life expectancy and healthy life expectancy show that where you live can be a matter of life and death: the more deprived your town or district, the lower your life expectancy. The data, from the Office for National Statistics, show life expectancy for men and women for…Read more…
Unite: May ‘must re-double efforts’
If you happen to be a black or Asian ethnic minority (BAEM) person in the UK today, you’ll inhabit a vastly different world than the rest of the population – you’re much more likely to be jobless, to…Read more…
UNISON vows to tackle poverty across society and the deeply divided society it creates
National delegate conference gets underway with discussion on how to tackle the poverty affecting millions across the UK
The article UNISON vows to tackle poverty across society and the deeply…Read more…
More likely to go to prison than university? But a degree doesn’t close the pay gap.
David Cameron’s front page of the Sunday Times announced a concerted Government anti-discrimination drive. Targeting universities, the police, the courts and the armed forces he said steps must be taken to tackle the ongoing discrimination that “should shame our country and jolt us to action”….Read more…
Global poverty: our part in its downfall
This week the World Economic Forum (WEF) meets in Davos, and in recognition of the leading role of trade unions, Sharan Burrow, the world’s top trade unionist, is one of the co-chairs this year. So it’s particularly apt that yesterday, Oxfam issued a pre-Davos report showing that trade…Read more…
We know what would solve global inequality: so why isn’t anyone doing it?
I wrote yesterday about the outcome of the Turkish G20 summit, which got close to addressing the gathering economic storms of global recession, but fell short of the action needed. But one area where the G20 did indeed get things right was identifying inequality as one of the main things holding…Read more…
Is this why the Tories hate trade unions?
Fascinating chart. Now, I know that not all Tories hate trade unions but none of their MPs voted against the Trade Union Bill second reading on Monday even though this is a basic democratic and human rights issue.
The chart shows that the income of th…Read more…
Want to reduce inequality? New IMF research says unionisation is key
Through gritted teeth, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has this week issued a ‘staff discussion note’ which contains a bit of a bombshell. The ballooning inequality that results from rampaging top people’s pay is not, as previously thought, an unfortunate by-product of…Read more…
Redbridge Schools Fairness Conference
On Thursday I went to Beal High School in Clayhall to observe a conference run by Redbridge Schools on “Fairness”.
I am a member of the Redbridge Council Fairness Commission which has been set up to investigate poverty and inequality in the Borough an…Read more…
I love redistribution
You know you’re a nerd when you’ve got a favourite statistic but you only know you’re a geek when you can’t stop telling people about it. I’ve really got to write about The Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income, even though it came out last week. I was away on the 29th (I…
The…Read more…
Iain Duncan Smith tears up the Child Poverty Act – and tells us he’s going to “improve” it
Well, after David Cameron prepared us for savage cuts to Child Tax Credit, lots of people expected that the government was going to change the Child Poverty Act substantially. After all, the last five years of cuts led the Institute for Fiscal Studies …Read more…
The UK rich quiz: How much do you know?
Despite the UK having one of the biggest economies in the world, wealth inequality between the rich and poor is rapidly growing. If you’re part of the 99% not in the UK’s rich club then…Read more…
The most unequal rich country in Northern Europe
Last month the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (the rich countries’ club) published In it Together: Why Less Inequality Benefits All. It develops the argument the OECD has been making for some time about the malign economic consequences of inequality, and presents evidence to…Read more…