Income inequality in the UK

The UK is one of the most unequal countries in the developed world. The gap between pay at the top and bottom is huge. Living standards for everyone - apart from those at the very top - remain squeezed. But we argue, it doesn't have to be like this.
Follow us on Twitter @HighPayCentre @InequalityBrief and join in the conversation using #paygap
For more information and how to tackle the pay gap visit: highpaycentre.org/
inequalitybriefing.org/

[@DimityGirl]

A great video explaining the issue of income inequality in the UK. Well done!

[@RiffDevin]

Excellent video highlighting just how poorly our country is managed by our political "elite"

[@pbsjohnz]

Increasing everyone's pay by 3k just means that a salary of 11k i.e minimum wage will become 14k. In a few years time once inflation catches up with the sudden 3k pay rise for everyone, there will be exactly the same issue. Those on a minimum wage will still struggle to put food on the table. The best way to get out of poverty is to learn a new skill or to create a company that will also hopefully create some high paying jobs. My point being, there are no quick fixes to this issue 😞

[@BalmoralB2]

Excellent video. Clear and easy to understand. Just what we need.

[@KarenT74]

I'm a qualified youthworker and even if u could get hold of full time work it would be 10K less than the average income. A lot of people round us have less than we do!

[@clarekneebone]

Great video and at a time when Conservatives are hammering down more austerity when we have 13 million in poverty and many children suffering from malnutrition in the 6th richest country in the world. The UN human rights council is investigating our government. Quite right too they are an absolute disgrace.

[@curtiscarpenter9881]

The sad thing is there's businesses big businesses dependent on large quantities of cheap low skilled labour with which only few people who need to run it make the money it that its making. The thing is the law can change with agreed returns for investors as agreed as a return but capping the income according to agreement satisficing the letter of the law. That then can attract investment and thing is too with kind of businesses they can profit share what they earn among the workforce. Income growth moving from the minimum wage upwards needs to be seen as a upwards trend towards overall national income growth, for instance for that to happen tax exempt status for those on minimum wage would be a huge help especially to those getting their first job and boosting pay to the living wage threshold and importantly preventing underemployment which is a big issue.

[@dakkster]

Swede here. Sweden is marked as a country with more equality. We are currently the OECD country with the fastest growing equality gap. We are raging about this issue just as much as you Brits are.

[@frederika3013]

Its all around the world now.... Maybe only countries like Switzerland or Austria are keeping high standard.

[@max-wb]

At the rate Sweden is going it'll be a third world country in 50 years

[@kevphillips02]

Watching the stark facts like this has been a real eye opener . It would not take a lot to balance society up just a little so that people at the bottom can have a better quality of life .

[@BisiLIFE]

Interesting video... Not sure I fully subscribe to the whole notion of taxing someone and giving to others irrespectively. Definitely need to address income in public sector; but not necessarily by demonizing high earners...esp high earners who are creating wealth by being business people

[@tessriley1658]

Informative and engaging - excellent video. Good to post links below the vid on links to resources on practical measures to reduce inequality?

[@staceymcgrevey6932]

this video hits home with me personally as I only earn minimum wage which is I believe is around £6.30 something an hour and I am over 21 so I am at my highest wage rate and once I have paid bills and bought food theres nothing left. horrible

[@m.r.9127]

Well aren't you special

[@Sam-jx7xi]

Stacey McGrevey thats your oen fault that you earn only the minium wage, your decisions, you shouldnt demand others just give more money for you

[@rybobunk3682]

Problem is- and this is just food for thought- the high earners actually make so much money as a result of actually working for it. Isn't this how a capitalist society works? We already tax those earning a lot by up to around 50 percent of their average income. To take anymore would surely be very unfair in itself.

[@olivermorland5226]

I agree, the people who work harder should get the rewards. And there is a supply and demand component to labour as well. But there comes a point when inequality is bad for the economy. Because very rich people will spend more of their money on luxuries when in fact it would be better for the economy if that money were spent on investing in merit goods. Inequality can also lead to unhappiness and a sensation that "the system is rigged" which causes social unrest. When inequality starts causing these problems its in everyone, including the rich people's best interests to close the inequality gap.

[@alexeykuznetsov2618]

Glad for the UK, and it's really good you're sounding the alarm. Keeping in mind that unemployment rate in Russia is 5,6% and falling, meanwhile number of people living below poverty line (which is, Russian poverty line, i.e. 100 pounds/month) is 15% and growing. And surprisingly, most people support the modern regime...

[@redman9pablo]

They believe the press and TV who are owned by the regime so they are like uneducated sheep and don't realise all of us together are stronger than them but they believe all the shit the press fill there heads with.

[@kingmatt2563DABEST]

One of the reasons poverty in Russia is increasing, is due to sanctions and government mismangement in the last few years, regarding foreign policy. Nothing to do with income inequality.

[@BrendaKent]

Can you help me get my head around questions such as how much money does Brian generate in a year for his business and how many jobs does that create? How easy is it to get another Brian or another Brenda? Are Brian and Brenda equally likely to spend in the local economy? Are you suggesting higher personal income tax or increasing the minimum wage to a 'living wage'? Thank you

[@shoumikchakraborty2788]

This is an excellent point, people don't understand that people with higher earnings create more jobs, if we start taxing them heavily to create an equal system this might backfire on the whole economy.

[@BrendaKent]

@@shoumikchakraborty2788 Not my point at all. They only make money on the work of the low paid who work for them. Tax the wealthy - if they don't want to pay more tax, then they can pay workers more and so reduce their profit and their tax bill. Why should people who make jobs get more money than people who do jobs?

[@olivermorland5226]

Agreed, but what about the Laffer curve?

[@kernel1kadafi]

Where did you get that £3000 stat from

[@honeyglazedgammon2318]

The very phrase “income distribution” is tendentious. It starts the economic story in the middle, with a body of income or wealth existing somehow, leaving only the question as to how that income or wealth is to be distributed or apportioned. In the real world, the situation is quite different. In a market economy, most people receive income as a result of what they produce, supplying other people with some goods or services that those people want, even if that service is only labor. Each recipient of these goods and services pays according to the value which that particular recipient puts on what is received, choosing among alternative suppliers to find the best combination of price and quality - both as judged by the individual who is paying. This mundane, utilitarian process is quite different from the vision of “income distribution” projected by those among the intelligentsia who invest that vision with moral angst. If there really were some pre-existing body of income or wealth, produced somehow - manna from heaven, as it were - then there would of course be a moral question as to how large a share each member of society should receive. But wealth is produced. It does not just exist somehow. Where millions of individuals are paid according to how much what they produce is valued subjectively by millions of other individuals, it is not at all clear on what basis third parties could say that some goods or services are over-valued or under-valued, that cooking should be valued more or carpentry should be valued less, for example, much less that not working at all is not rewarded enough compared to working. Classic thomas sowell

[@EmilyWalters]

What are some of the things that those other countries do differently then? Are the wages more fair because of taxation or companies paying a higher corporation tax? Thanks very much.

[@quickfate]

Tax and regulation are managed better against big business, aswell as transport and national services being nationalized to allow the people easy of living and low costs, allowing them to spend more on the streets, there for putting more money into businesses, who are forced to pay a fair above living wage too the people. I would link you to a bunch of statistics, but the ones involving england are not as easy to get hold of sadly.

[@EmilyWalters]

Fluffy Bunny Productions. That was very helpful, thank you!

[@loopsmybrother6156]

All very good But how do we change it Most of the really high paid jobs are competitive so if they don't pay The best talent will go somewhere that does How do we make companies pay the worker more and the boss less

[@CUSHDRIVEREPAIRKIT]

and who is going to tackle it, the gap got worse during 13 years of Labour administration, at least with the Conservatives it is what you expect. Parties are obsessed with the city and markets rather than the people they represent. Corporate Britain run by their lackies in the Labour and Conservative Parties.

[@notchcasino7292]

CUSHDRIVEREPAIRKIT i heard that the reason people keep getting poorer is because whenever they get money they spend it on a new laptop or phone and build up debt instead of paying off the debt they do have.

[@MaxLatham]

+french vanilla The reasons for poverty are multi-causal, and cannot be defined in such simplistic terms. Corruption has a lot to do with inequality in wealth. I like this video, because it highlights the fact that there is life beyond the UK, and in such places, it is easier to be poor.

[@PHILIPWATSON82]

LIFE IN THE UK 🇬🇧 IS DEPRESSING

[@markallan3842]

Dream on people it will never change if there was any will at all for it to change it would have been done by now !

[@mh4447]

I almost expected them to say vote Labour, a party that in its very name says it is a party catering to only one group of people

[@kevinpeck7312]

Without Labour under Clement Attlee there would be no NHS and what about the Tories the party that believes there are no social or economic rights

[@jameschivers6729]

@@kevinpeck7312 ahaha shut up

[@greymollusk]

The true solution to the problem: Capitalism. There is no good way to take wealth from the rich without hindering the economy as a whole. This video encourages money to be taken from the rich. If people aspiring to be like Bryan are met with the prospect of their wealth being taken away, then they will have less incentive to earn more and benefit their customers. Capitalism makes it possible for people to become Bryan, benefitting those around them and putting people like Bryan out of business if they become too corrupt. In capitalism, Bryan, after all, has to stay competitive. That said, with Britain being socialistic, there is a high possibility that Bryan has received many benefits from the government in the form of subsidies or economic control over competitors. Capitalism fixes this issue by reducing subsidies and discouraging monopolies. People like Bryan come into play when a monopoly comes into power that can afford to pay millions out to high ranking officials. Monopolies are supported by the government because they can use it as a tool to control the market and their competition.

[@kevinpeck7312]

How useful have FTSE directors been in the last 4 months. A very simplistic view is shown by your reply here. Capitalism encourages the short -term over long term and so micro economic aims are at odds with the macro economic desirable goals in many cases. Directors are steered towards short-term profits by investors requiring short term gains. Capitalism and greed caused the financial crisis when markets were allowed to spiral out of control lacking adequate regulation. If we consider the railways allowing companies to operate franchises did nothing to improve the service. Capitalism through the market for corporate control encourages investments that payback over one or two years it takes 20 years to commission a nuclear power station or projects of this nature that benefit society rather than provide short term gain. There is an argument for higher wages as currently it encourages investment in low risk projects like for instance sandwich shops when we should be looking at projects that provide high value jobs. Capitalism in its current form does not work and there is a need for a move away from cronyism to amore ethical brand of capitalism.

[@kristinesharp6286]

The guy running the company is responsible for the income of hundreds of families making a living and huge amounts of cash. The question really isn’t about why does someone make a lot more than another but why can’t the average incomes afford a 3bd 1bath semidettached home. It used to one person working could afford that. Now two people are having a hard time. What is the problem with supply and demand. Didn’t England plan for the number of homes it’s population would need at the prices that they could afford? Are they accepting too many people suddenly, the birth rate in Britain isn’t all that high. Why have costs gone up? It doesn’t matter at the end of the day what your neighbor makes. All that matters is a person making 27 doing an honorable job should be able to make payments to eventually own a home without or without a partner and a couple of kids to support as well. Making the CEO take less will help a few hundred people make slightly more. If it’s distributed properly. That still won’t be enough.

[@EconFilms]

slick video - nicely done

[@ZoltarSoulFunk]

Problem is, those at the top don't give a shit about anyone else but themselves.

[@user-dz2hj6jo5h]

AstoundingPilot -SW- No. They don’t, they just pretend like they do. They do only the bare minimum to not get in trouble with the law

[@HighPayCentre]

If you are interested in more data on this video, here is the link to the document on our website highpaycentre.org/blog/explaining-the-data-the-background-to-our-new-animation We are holding an event at the House of Commons on Tuesday Jul 15 to debate policies that could address income inequality. It is free and if you want to come email [e-mail]

[@kristinesharp6286]

With socialized medicine you have restricted how much you can pay the nurse.

[@clublinkadminoffice2425]

It's got nothing to do with that. It is, as explained in the video, the wealth inequality gap.

[@paulhanck1123]

That only when you underfund the healthcare system

[@matthewemhart]

There are some issues with the information in this video. It's true, there is a vast difference between the richest and the middle income in the UK, however one reason for this is that London has more billionaires living there than any other country in the world. If you look at the list of those people with the highest incomes, they have made their money internationally, not in the UK. These people only bring money IN to the UK, they own properties, buy services and pay taxes (and before someones make a tax dodging comment, even if these people were paying 1% tax they would still be contributing more to the country per year than most people will in their lifetimes). I'm not saying it's fair that some people have all the money and others don't, but to say that having high earners live in the UK makes other people poorer is ridiculous

[@kristinesharp6286]

No foreign ownership. Unless the resident population can afford a 3bd property semi detached on one full time income. It’s Airbnb’s and the not building enough that causes the wage to not be livable. Not John Doe’s salary.

[@mh4447]

Sorry to say but my grand father and father worked extremely hard going from land Lord and engineer to colonial industrialist and plantation owner, (Grand Father) and to Doctor and Head of Medical research (father) for me to be able to get have a good education and live a comfortable life The problem quite frankly, is with those who don't study and get into University or work hard enough. It is not that my Father and Grand Father, or anyone for that matter, can determine their wealth. Every thing is by God's will.

[@dilbot1124]

fr dawg

[@Cromper]

Poverty has nothing to do with pay gaps. It is about personal issues that more money cannot solve.

[@A.K2.718]

capitilism should get different things and fixes to make it fair for nurses

[@aomine6817]

raise taxes, fight for shorter working hours and higher wages, because the only alternative is a violent revolution

[@benmasclans4]

wow I always thought that income inequality and wage stagnation was an American problem guess not

[@idkwayta1722]

wolflord4 lol if every country was like Nordic country everyone would still complain about inequality

[@idkwayta1722]

sheehan1able it always a problem if people keep on complain about it and vote for the dude provoke equality and don't realize that poverty rate is the real problem

[@adrienlac]

I don't even understand why there should be a difference in pay between jobs in general. Why do nurses HAVE TO earn less than doctors? Why do university professors HAVE TO earn more than middle school teachers? Why do workers HAVE TO earn less than their bosses? If you find a justification for ANY gap then you don't have to look too far to justify the rest: the same ideology is applied to justify enormous pay gaps. My point is: ANY gap is absurd. Think about it, ALL jobs are useful, they ALL provide services, they ALL help people. Pay difference is moronic down to its roots.

[@gdhina]

While this video highlights some key areas that need to be thought off, the conclusion is somehow misleading. The part at 3.00 minute where it mentions 'higher income for some, means lower income for others' is misleading. Portraying the rich as thieves is not right, as they are generating value, else they wouldn't be compensated such. There are real thieves, but not everyone who earns more is one. Nevertheless, the task is to improve the system that wealth is distributed fairly and not vilify those who are earning more. Additionally, if a country taxes the rich more, the business owner would move to other places which are able to give him more value, which is why countries give tax incentives to attract companies. Talking about workers who earn more, people usually gravitate towards higher-paying companies, which is done to attract talents. Income disparity issue is real and needs to be addressed, but that statement is not accurate and sends a wrong message.

[@PHILIPWATSON82]

IM SO SICK OF WORKING HARD AND GETTING PAID JUST ENOUGH TO SCRAPE BY 😡🤬😡🤮

[@mh4447]

Doctors work Day and Night. if their work requires a skill not many people have and the time not many people want to give, while there is a huge demand for Doctors (too much curry), their wage goes up! please think for a few hours before making a video!

[@RBenjo21]

Opinions aside, a lot of the "facts" in this are actually untrue.

[@Isomoar]

Rhys Benjamin Care to point to specifics and provide sources?

[@samanthahardy9903]

Astoundingpilot There are people with university degrees still in low paid jobs who don't have kids. There are those that complete secondary school and did not get good qualifications because academic learning is beyond their capabilities due to disabilities. There are people whose marriages failed who have kids.

[@ufcbible]

S1t

[@geoffjones8725]

The economic logic behind this video is totally flawed

[@geoffjones8725]

sheehan1able in hindsight, logic wasn’t the best choice of words.

[@henrydoesbikes4853]

This is a load of rubbish. Income inequality is not a bad thing, the people at the top have learnt that money legitimately and don't deserve to have their money confiscated. Peoples labour goes down in value when it isn't worth as much to other people. You shouldn't be looking to make rich people poorer, that is being greedy as again, those people have learnt that money legitimately.

[@clxdzz2759]

this is a bunch of rubbish the guy worked harder than the woman so she wouldnt have as much money