London is a major reason for the UK's inequality problem. Unfortunately, City leaders don't want to talk about it

City leaders often appear reluctant to discuss London't role in growing levels of regional inequality. I.R.Stone/Shutterstock

In recent years, there has been growing evidence that the UK economy is in poor shape. While the latest economic figures suggest it performed better as the COVID pandemic receded than was previously reported, the performance of sectors such as manufacturing, construction and agriculture has been revised downwards, leading some experts to warn of a greater risk of a recession to come.

Alongside these economic challenges, the UK faces many societal issues – including rising levels of inequality, with the country’s Gini coefficient projected to reach a record high of 40.8% in 2027-28. In 2022, the richest fifth of the UK population had an income more than 12 times that of the poorest fifth.