Gap between rich and poor widens

A detailed and startling analysis of how unequal Britain has become offers a snapshot of an increasingly divided nation where the richest 10 per cent of the population are more than 100 times as wealthy as the poorest 10 per cent of society. The report, An Anatomy of Economic Inequality in the UK, scrutinises the degree to which the country has become more unequal over the past 30 years. Much of it will make uncomfortable reading for the Labour government, although the paper indicates that considerable responsibility lies with the Tories, who presided over the dramatic divisions of the 1980s and early 1990s. The new findings show that the household wealth of the top 10 per cent of the population stands at £853,000 and more – over 100 times higher than the wealth of the poorest 10 per cent, which is £8,800 or below (a sum including cars and other possessions).