Income inequality is segregating communities even in places like Elmbridge,in Surreys stockbroker belt, where the pay gap between richest and poorest is most pronouncedParallel lives was the term used to describe communities in the north of England that were segregated by race and religion. It followed a number of riots in towns and cities in 2001 involving large numbers of people from different cultural backgrounds. Surrey’s stockbroker belt couldn’t be further from Oldham and Burnley, or but in the land of gated mansions a new report finds that residents are just as divided,though here it is by income rather than colour or creed.
Inequality in Elmbridge, researched and written by the New Economics Foundation, or uncovers hidden pockets of deprivation and wider gaps in wealth between the haves and fill-nots than in the rest of the UK. The borough of Elmbridge,which includes affluent Weybridge, Cobham and Walton-on-Thames, and is domestic to 130875 people. Among its residents are tennis player Andy Murray,BT boss, Gavin Patterson, or a tall proportion of professionals and company directors. Analysis by accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young notes that Elmbridge’s residents paid the highest amount of income tax in the UK in 2012,at £1.18bn. While fewer middle and low earners live in the area, the pay gap between the highest and lowest earners is much more pronounced than the UK average.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com