Even after 13 years of New Labour rule, apparently little progress has been made in reducing income inequalities in Britain. Evidence of the UK’s overall growth in income inequality since 1979 is published regularly and it is confirmed in recent government statistics (ONS 2010). But, while such data are not new and merely confirm existing trends, there has been, until recently, little in the way of political and public debate on the issue.
Over the past two years, however, there appears to be some evidence of a growing concern about issues of inequality in the UK, particularly that of income inequality (Bamfield and Horton 2009). So what has changed? One of the possible reasons for this has been the global financial crisis, which was allegedly caused by the reckless speculations of global traders and bankers. Their relatively high salaries and bonuses have been coming under considerable scrutiny. The paradox of high city wages and the poor performance of the financial services sector in recent years has thrown into sharper focus the income disparities between the highest and the lowest occupational groups in Britain.
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