13 Jul 2026
Income gaps between different regions across Britain have remained resolutely high over the past 30 years, including during the pandemic upheaval and 'levelling-up' agenda, says the Resolution Foundation.
The think tank says this highlights the scale of the challenge facing Prime Minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham as he seeks to tackle geographic inequality.
Resolution Foundation analysis shows that before-housing-cost income gaps between regions and nations have remained stubbornly large between 1997 and 2023. Gross Household Disposable Income per person in London is at £27,900 three-fifths higher than Northern Ireland's at £17,300.
These gaps are deeply entrenched throughout the country. More than half of the local authorities in the poorest fifth for income per person in 1997 were still there in 2023, while 82% of the richest fifth of local authorities stayed in the top fifth.
Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: 'Britain has among the highest regional inequality of any advanced economy, and successive governments have tried and failed to reduce these income divides. The gap between rich places like Kensington and Chelsea and poor places like Leicester is just as high today as they were 30 years ago.
'There are bright spots. Employment and pay gaps have narrowed, and Manchester's remarkable revival shows that decline is not destiny. But the UK's major cities, once the powerhouses of national economic growth, continue to underperform.'