The UK's regional income divide persists despite decades of efforts, according to a recent report. This issue, which has been a focus of successive governments, remains a significant challenge for Andy Burnham, the prime minister-in-waiting. The Resolution Foundation's findings reveal that, since 1997, there has been almost no progress in reducing the stark income disparities between the richest and poorest regions. Despite promises of rebalancing Britain's economic geography, the income gap between London and Northern Ireland has remained unchanged, with London's gross household disposable income per person at £27,900 and Northern Ireland's at £17,300. The report highlights persistent local income inequality, with Kensington and Chelsea's disposable income at £60,584 being four and a half times that of Leicester's £13,398. This disparity has endured for nearly three decades, with over half of the poorest local authorities in 1997 still in the same position in 2023, and 82% of the richest places maintaining their top status. The 'levelling-up' agenda, introduced by Boris Johnson, has failed to bridge the income gap, as evidenced by the unchanged income disparity between the richest and poorest tenth of local authorities between 2019 and 2023. However, there are glimmers of hope in cities like Manchester, where economic growth and narrowing pay gaps have been observed. Manchester's gross household disposable income per person has grown by 40% in real terms since 1997, but it still lags behind London and other northern cities. The Resolution Foundation emphasizes the need for substantial investment in transport, housing, and economic development to address regional inequality. They compare this to Germany's post-Cold War reintegration efforts, which allocated £70bn annually for 25 years, while the UK's 'levelling-up' spending in 2022 was a mere £4bn. Ruth Curtice, the foundation's CEO, underscores the importance of serious investment in regional cities to prevent the economic and political costs of geographic divides from escalating further.
