Inequality in the UK

Ask Full Fact: have the Conservatives redefined child poverty?

They haven’t changed what’s counted or how it’s counted. They did change the target.

SNP Manifesto: Future child poverty

Child poverty is projected to rise on a number of measures by 2021.

Labour Manifesto: Food banks

We've factchecked claims from Jeremy Corbyn's speech at the Labour party manifesto launch.

Labour Manifesto: Rich and Poor

We've factchecked claims from Jeremy Corbyn's speech at the Labour party manifesto launch.

How have wages changed over the past decade?

Average wages have fallen and are starting to recover. Even as the average wage fell, many people's wages were going up.

Fifty years of income inequality

The poor are less poor… but the rich are much richer.

Is 40% of Glasgow living in poverty?

Living in a deprived area doesn’t necessarily mean a person is deprived. Around 48% of areas in Glasgow were among the 20% most deprived in Scotland.

How many nurses are using foodbanks?

Media reports show that at least some individual nurses and trainees have visited food banks. We've not found any evidence on how widespread this is.

Are four million children living in poverty?

Yes, if you measure relative poverty after housing costs in the UK. Other measures give a lower figure.

If politicians talk about the rich, always ask who they mean

There are wealthy individuals with low incomes, and there are high-income people who have accumulated little wealth.

How many people use food banks?

We don’t know how many people use food banks in total. The Trussell Trust, which is estimated to run around half of all food banks in the UK, says it had around 560,000 people using its services in 2016/17.

Pensioners in poverty

Latest figures suggest two million pensioners are in relative poverty, but the rate is much lower than it was decades ago.

Are pensioners better off than people of working age?

Research by a number of think tanks has found that the average pensioner income, after housing costs have been included, is now above that of the average person of working age.

Pensions under Labour and the Conservatives

The basic state pension went up by slightly more under Labour up to 2010 than under Conservative Chancellors since then, once inflation is factored in.

Is child and pensioner poverty rising?

There are lots of ways to measure poverty. Some show that child and pensioner poverty have increased slightly in recent years, but others show it has been stable or fallen.

Poverty in the UK: a guide to the facts and figures

Relative poverty, absolute poverty, and how the UK is faring.

Women in work: the female employment rate, company boards and the gender pay gap

The UK labour market is getting more equal... but your gender is still a big predictor of your pay packet.

Income inequality

By several headline measures, it’s fallen gradually across the bulk of UK households in the past ten years.

How many earn below the living wage?

We’ve looked at how many people are estimated to earn below the National Living Wage set by the government and the living wage that campaigners recommend.

What do the wealthiest pay in tax?

Define wealthiest and we’ll get back to you.

UK wealth: how much is owned by the 1%?

It’s surprisingly hard to estimate

Age, motherhood and the gender pay gap

We’ve seen evidence that the pay gap gets bigger when women become mothers, but they don’t seem to have a clear advantage before then.

Ethnic diversity on company boards

People from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are underrepresented on FTSE 150 company boards.