UK one of the most unequal countries in the developed world, claims Oxfam

Inequality: the richest one per cent own almost a quarter of the country's wealth
Carl Court/Getty Images
Tom Powell13 September 2016

The UK’s richest one per cent own more than 20 times the wealth of the poorest fifth, an Oxfam report has revealed.

The charity claimed the UK is one of the most unequal countries in the developed world and that this contributed to the vote to leave the EU.

Its figures suggest the property, pensions and shares owned by around 634,000 of Britain’s richest are worth more than 20 times as much as the accumulated assets of the poorest 13 million.

The anti-poverty charity issued a plea to Theresa May to take action to close the gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots”.

An Oxfam spokesperson said: “The UK is one of the most unequal developed countries in the world. Three decades of high-level inequality have had a profound impact, leading many people to believe that they have little stake in society and to feel locked out of politics and economic opportunity.

“Whatever your views on Brexit, the referendum brought divisions within our country to a head, with many people expressing distrust and disconnection with political processes and voting for change in the hope that it would improve their economic position.”

The report, which analysed data from investment bank Credit Suisse, found that the richest 10 per cent in the country own over half the total wealth, with the top one per cent owning almost a quarter.

The poorest 20 per cent of the population share 0.8 per cent of the country’s wealth between them.

Experts believe rises in property prices have boosted the wealth of the richest over the last 20 years, widening the inequality gap further.

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