‘A deeply unjust and unequal country’: report warns of unprecedented advances by far-right in UK | Society

The next government must take decisive action to reduce inequality or risk unprecedented far-right gains, a think tank warns.

A report by the Fairness Foundation says Britain will become even more unfair and unequal over the next five years, with growing inequalities in health, housing, poverty and an income divide between the North and the South.

More than 30 people from business, academia and civil society backed the report’s findings in a letter to all party leaders, expressing dismay at the “lack of political will to tackle injustice and inequality” in the United Kingdom.

“We believe this is not only morally wrong, but causes profound damage to our society, our economy and our democracy, and undermines the fight against the climate crisis,” they say.

“Failure to act now will make us less healthy, productive, effective, resilient and less cohesive.”

New report, Canaries, warns that the number of children in relative poverty is expected to increase by 30% to 33% by 2028, due to the freezing of housing benefits, the end of cost of living allowances and the capping of allowances for two children.

It also says the number of children living in overcrowded housing will increase from 1.8 million to 2 million by 2030 as housing becomes more expensive.

The average person in the south-east of England is £195,400 more than the person in the north, a gap that is set to reach £229,000 by 2029 due to unequal inheritance of wealth.

Gaps in educational achievement are likely to widen as school budgets are set to decline over the next five years.

Only 25.2% of disadvantaged children achieve five or more good GCSEs, compared to 52.4% of their non-disadvantaged peers – a gap which has been widening since 2017.

The income gap between business leaders and their employees is also likely to widen. FTSE350 CEOs earn 57 times more than the median salary of their employees and income inequality increased by 20% between 1980 and 2019.

Will Snell, chief executive of the Fairness Foundation, said most Britons agree we urgently need to tackle inequality. “But everything indicates that Britain is a deeply unfair and unequal country,” he said.

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“It undermines the very foundations of our society, harms our economy and endangers our democracy. Injustice in Britain looks set to get even worse in the coming years. The canaries in the coal mine are no longer singing, and the next government will have to pay attention. »

Inequality means people in deprived areas are more likely to get sick for decades, the report says. These types of inequalities hold back economic growth, reduce social mobility and fuel social unrest.

Shabna Begum, chief executive of the Runnymede Trust, said: “There is a real risk that if a new government does not deliver rapid and meaningful change on inequality, we will see far-right parties capitalise on desperation and become a real electoral threat.”

The report’s recommendations include a call to remove the two-child benefit cap and to adopt advice from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Trussell Trust to introduce a “basic goods guarantee” – a minimum level of support for Universal Credit.

She also supports the Resolution Foundation’s suggestion of a £10,000 “citizen’s legacy” for all 30-year-olds, as well as a “universal savings account” combining pensions, lifetime ISAs and help to save.