Is Corbyn's fight agianst Inequality one for such a divided country?
Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership has taken the Labour party back down its left-wing routes: fighting against injustices and the working man. One of the main arguments that has fuelled much of Corbyn and Labour’s debates is the inequality that the many face in the UK. But is he right and is it a big deal?
The traditional measure of comparing inequality in a country is the Gini coefficient. On this scale, the higher the value, the more wealth is skewed towards the top: representing a more unequal society. At the height of the economic crash, Britain attained a value of 0.358, while the most recent figure is 0.342. In context to other developed countries, Germany, France, Netherlands and Norway all have coefficients lower than 0.3. Britain is one of the most unequal countries in Europe.
Such inequality can be seen in the changes in wages since the 2008 crash. The Trade Union Congress has displayed data showing that wage inflation in the financial sector in the last decade has risen by £120 a week (average), while the weekly wage for the average British worker is actually £17 down after taking into account living costs and inflation.
The average British worker has been led to the controversial paths of zero hour contracts and the ‘gig-economy’. The number of those who work on zero hour contracts has risen substantially since the turn of the century: 225,000 in 2000 up to 780,000 in 2018. While those working in the gig economy (Deliveroo, Uber etc.) has doubled in the last 3 years and now employs over 4.7 million people in the UK, making 9.6% of the working population. Much of this is concerned with limited structured hours and recent outcry with regards to limited working rights. The next government, pressured by labour, has said it will review the gig economy with regards to rights. The explosion of these jobs either shows one of two things: the working economy is changing and people are now looking at working multiple jobs at more flexible hours or; the income gained from their traditional jobs is not sufficient and needs bolstering by side-line work. Only time will tell on this one but The Rowntree foundation estimate that 4 million people are now classes as 'working-poor'; clearly signifying the direction.
So Inequality is prevalent in Britain and Jezza has a point but how far do the effects of inequality reach? An excellent book by Wilkinson and Pickett (The Spirit Level – highly recommended for any interested) gives many of the answers to this. They argue that correlations can be seen with regards to income inequality and mental and physical health. Inequality raises violence and crime levels. And lowers the wellbeing of the whole society to name a few. Inequality is a danger and Jeremy Corbyn has every right to stand by it, perhaps even more so after a recent report showed the extent of social immobility in the UK and in so highlighting the importance of granting the same opportunities for all.
Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership has taken the Labour party back down its left-wing routes: fighting against injustices and the working man. One of the main arguments that has fuelled much of Corbyn and Labour’s debates is the inequality that the many face in the UK. But is he right and is it a big deal?
The traditional measure of comparing inequality in a country is the Gini coefficient. On this scale, the higher the value, the more wealth is skewed towards the top: representing a more unequal society. At the height of the economic crash, Britain attained a value of 0.358, while the most recent figure is 0.342. In context to other developed countries, Germany, France, Netherlands and Norway all have coefficients lower than 0.3. Britain is one of the most unequal countries in Europe.
Such inequality can be seen in the changes in wages since the 2008 crash. The Trade Union Congress has displayed data showing that wage inflation in the financial sector in the last decade has risen by £120 a week (average), while the weekly wage for the average British worker is actually £17 down after taking into account living costs and inflation.
The average British worker has been led to the controversial paths of zero hour contracts and the ‘gig-economy’. The number of those who work on zero hour contracts has risen substantially since the turn of the century: 225,000 in 2000 up to 780,000 in 2018. While those working in the gig economy (Deliveroo, Uber etc.) has doubled in the last 3 years and now employs over 4.7 million people in the UK, making 9.6% of the working population. Much of this is concerned with limited structured hours and recent outcry with regards to limited working rights. The next government, pressured by labour, has said it will review the gig economy with regards to rights. The explosion of these jobs either shows one of two things: the working economy is changing and people are now looking at working multiple jobs at more flexible hours or; the income gained from their traditional jobs is not sufficient and needs bolstering by side-line work. Only time will tell on this one but The Rowntree foundation estimate that 4 million people are now classes as 'working-poor'; clearly signifying the direction.
So Inequality is prevalent in Britain and Jezza has a point but how far do the effects of inequality reach? An excellent book by Wilkinson and Pickett (The Spirit Level – highly recommended for any interested) gives many of the answers to this. They argue that correlations can be seen with regards to income inequality and mental and physical health. Inequality raises violence and crime levels. And lowers the wellbeing of the whole society to name a few. Inequality is a danger and Jeremy Corbyn has every right to stand by it, perhaps even more so after a recent report showed the extent of social immobility in the UK and in so highlighting the importance of granting the same opportunities for all.