Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
Bread for the poor, circuses for the rich
Stats reveal widening gap in austerity Britain

BRITAIN’S poorest households are spending nearly half of their income on food and housing while the rich spend four times more on entertainment, official figures revealed yesterday.

The disparities of austerity Britain were laid bare as this year’s figures on family spending were disclosed by the Office for National Statistics.

While the average weekly spend of £531 was again up on previous years, the disposable income of the richest fifth of Britons is now six times higher than the bottom 20 per cent.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
The skyline of Canary Wharf in London as the cold snap continues to grip much of the nation, February 14, 2021
Inequality / 14 July 2026
14 July 2026

Trade unions call for windfall tax hike to fund social energy tariff to public’s energy bills

UNITED VOICE REQUIRED: Workers stand up, yesterday, to the management of Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, Germany with slogans: ‘fighting for the future,’ and ‘exclusion,’ ‘job insecurity’ (strips attached to the scythe) / Pic: Jan Woitas/dpa via AP
Climate Crisis / 11 July 2026
11 July 2026

The future does not have to be climate chaos and social breakdown. MARC VANDEPITTE looks at the alternatives offered by the Global Justice Report, co-authored by Thomas Piketty

 

Coins and Scottish bank notes, April 9, 2018
Inequality / 26 January 2026
26 January 2026
A person holding an energy bill
Energy / 10 September 2025
10 September 2025