Social cohesion — United Kingdom · Synthesis

High income inequality. The Gini index of disposable income stands at around 0.35 (OECD), among the highest in Western Europe, well above France and Germany. This inequality, greatly widened in the 1980s, has remained stable at a high level.

Worrying child poverty. Poverty, in particular child poverty, is a major issue: several million children live below the poverty line (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, IFS), a share that is rising, worsened by the cost-of-living crisis and the freezing of certain benefits.

Stark regional inequalities. The income, productivity and opportunity gaps between prosperous London and the South East, on the one hand, and several regions of the North and Midlands, on the other, are among the most pronounced in the developed world — at the heart of the 'levelling up' (territorial rebalancing) agenda.

Wages and the cost of living. The stagnation of real wages over the 2010s (see the Economy and Labour categories) and the cost-of-living crisis have weighed on lower-income households, despite the significant uprating of the minimum wage.

A tightened safety net. The decade of austerity reduced certain social benefits (freeze, cap, two-child limit), which contributed to rising poverty among large families and single-parent households according to independent analyses.

Reducing child poverty. Child poverty is the central social challenge; debates centre on family benefits (including the two-child limit) and parental employment.

Territorial rebalancing. Delivering on 'levelling up' requires sustained investment in declining regions (infrastructure, skills, health). Results remain limited to date, according to analyses.

Cost of living and low incomes. Protecting the purchasing power of lower-income households, more exposed to energy and food prices (see the Prices category), remains a cohesion challenge.

Safety net and incentives. The debate on the level and structure of benefits (Universal Credit), between protection and work incentives, shapes social policy.

The open questions. Three issues will shape the period: (1) reducing child poverty; (2) rebalancing regions; (3) protecting low incomes against the cost of living.

Placed in its environment, the United Kingdom displays income inequality higher than its continental neighbours and stark regional disparities.

Three takeaways. (1) Inequality: high for Western Europe. With a Gini of ≈ 0.35, the United Kingdom exceeds France (≈ 0.29), Germany (≈ 0.30) and Italy (≈ 0.33), but remains below the United States (≈ 0.39-0.41).

(2) Intermediate redistribution. The British system redistributes less than the most generous continental models, which contributes to higher disposable income inequality.

(3) Marked regional inequalities. The gap between London and several regions is one of the largest among the major countries — a particularly salient dimension of inequality in the United Kingdom.