UK poverty worst in western Europe

Submitted by Matthew on 10 June, 2015 - 11:29 Author: Gerry Bates

A new study has found that poor people in Britain have it worse than anywhere else in western Europe.

The report, published by the High Pay Centre, finds that the poorest 20% of households have some of the smallest disposable incomes in the whole continent, and are much poorer than their equivalents in developed western European countries.

The study also demonstrates that Britain is a deeply unequal society. The wealthiest fifth of the population are doing very nicely by European standards. Only in Germany and France have the top 20% got more disposable income than in Britain. But the UK’s poorest fifth have to get by on incomes more akin to the poorest fifth in countries like Slovenia and the Czech Republic

"The fact that the rich are richer in the UK than many other countries hides the fact that the poor are poorer," said Deborah Hargreaves, the director of the High Pay Centre. "Most people think our living standards in the UK are similar to economies like France and Germany, but being poor in the UK is more like being poor in the former Soviet Bloc than in Western Europe."

While depressing, these figures are hardly surprising in light of the Tories' austerity programme.of wage cuts, slashed services and sackings. To reverse inequality and poverty, the huge wealth which exists in society should be used to improve the lives of everyone.

That means taxing the rich and taking the banks into collective, democratic control.

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