With a particular focus on economic inequalities, this essay will critically analyse the degree to which geographers and interested individuals should be concerned about the disparity between regions and localities within England and Scotland. Previous trends following the onset of the twentieth century and its consequent economic and global upheavals resulted in varying degrees of inequalities at different times. Following a sharp drop after World War 2: partly due to Attlee’s Labour government (1945-51) pushing more resources towards the NHS and welfare state, and the erosion of class privileges and increases towards universal education also contributing towards equality (Holdsworth, 2013). A growth in the financial sector during the 70’s and 80’s saw a reversal of this equality, with a sudden gap emerging in the top 1% of earners during this time period (Holdsworth, 2013). A direct impact of economic instability within regions can result in wide health disparities, and further opportunities for the general populace in the areas, which is, reflected in future prospects. This essay will continually try to assess the links between economic and health inequalities.
In defining inequality there are numerous interpretations to be taken with many differing types of inequalities, which can be factored in. The most basic and perhaps accurate definition is simply ‘The State of not being equal’ (Atkinson, 2017). Questions of inequalities are at the core of many intellectual discussions and concerns about ‘fairness’ and social justice. Health and economic inequalities are a huge problem for the current government in the United Kingdom, with inequalities having been shown to exist between socio-economic groups and places. The degree of which these inequalities differ can be huge for places that are relatively near to each other. Since the aforementioned economic gap that became apparent in the 70’s, the UK has seen considerable economic growth, which is reflected in both household income and wealth. However as seen in the Babb report not everyone has appreciated the benefits of this (). It is shown in Fig. 1 that there is a greater share of people living on lower levels of income, as reflected in the chart there is around 1.6 million people living on over one thousand pounds a week, nearly six times that of the bottom ten per cent. It can therefore be seen that it is not a city
or nations low gross income that results in health inequalities but rather income inequalities within regions and cities, which lead to health inequalities (Wilkinson, 1997). This is reflected in Glasgow, an economic powerhouse for Scotland having the highest GVA in the country, and fifth highest in the UK. Despite this, across the four largest cities in Scotland, Glasgow has the highest percentage of income depravation, with over a quarter of its population (31%) living within the lowest ten percentile of deprived areas. By stark contrast, less than four per cent of the populace live in the least deprived areas, with nearly half of Glasgow’s population living in the lowest twentieth per cent for housing. It is these alarming statistics from within a relatively rich city, which should be alarming to geographers. Wilkinson’s theory that the more evenly spread a countries’ wealth is, the better the health of said country is (Holdsworth, 2013). It is claimed that peoples positions within society places stresses upon them which consequences their health beyond explanations offered by alternate theories such as smoking and other unhealthy options.
Glasgow is a particularly good example of a city with a huge disparity between its most affluent and deprived. Situated just eight miles from each other are the towns of Lenzie and Calton- both within the Greater Glasgow area. A 2008 study by WHO contrasted these two towns to highlight the severe depravation experienced in Calton. At the time of the study, the average Calton male was expected to live 53 years, while a male born in Lenzie could expect to like 82 years- both against the Scottish average at the time of 78, and a city average of 69 (BBC News). It is shown in Fig. 3 that the radical differences in deprivation is very clear, with the dark blue indicating most affluent areas and darker red the most deprived. There is a stark contrast for Glasgow, with a majority of the map showing either very affluent or deprived areas, this perhaps indicates however a growing need for improvement within the city, something that officials have recognized previously.
There are a number of strategies and plans currently in place by either Glasgow’s city council or the Scottish government to try and tackle the wide disparity between areas of concern (Who, 2018). These plans include the ‘Glasgow community plan’, developed by partners within the city to “articulate the focus and priority areas where joint action can make a real difference” wherein a Local Outcomes Improvement plan has to be published which highlights the shared priorities and any planned improvements (Understandingglasgow.com. 2018). The general aims for the project as a whole are stated on the Thriving Places website as:
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In addition to these local schemes, a Poverty Leadership Panel was established in 2013 to provide more experienced help (Thriving Places). Composed of people with a variety of experience ranging from local to professionals, everyone on the panel has experienced living in property. In its 2016/17-progress report, the PLP had a number of targets dealing with many issues ranging from housing and work to the anti-stigmatisation of poverty and disabilities. Meeting quarterly, the panel members and partners report regularly on their progress.
The Scottish government itself has also started a ten-year National performance framework in 2007, designed to measure national wellbeing (Understandingglasgow.com. 2018). Following the ten-year timeline, a public review was placed on the National Outcomes for Scotland, and the NFP was revised also (Understandingglasgow.com. 2018) The revised NFP took into consideration Scotland’s residents and was intended to replicate national values and goals. In addition they also aim to uphold the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to help improve the welfare of people globally. In order to successfully track and monitor their progress, over eighty-one monitoring indicators have been set up. While Glasgow appears to be what is perhaps a ‘poster-child’ for economic deprivation, it is shown that many steps have been taken towards reducing the wide disparity in its residents. Both local councils and the National Government have taken notice, and are working individually and together towards creating a sustainably ‘fair’ economic environment for its citizens (Nationalperformance.gov). In trying to assess the degree at which geographers should be alarmed for its inequalities, these steps already taken should be assessed. While it would be remiss to say that Glasgow is no longer a cause for alarm., it may be more accurate to stat that it is no longer a top priority.
Many non-citizen’s of the United Kingdom work under the incorrect assumption that the City of London is an economic prosperity engine for the rest of the country. London and it Southern Hinterlands may be one of the most successful regions in Europe, but there are many major localised inequalities within it also. It has been found that half of London’s wealth is owned by the richest 10% of households, and the lower half own less than 5% of the remaining wealth (Atkinson, 2015). The income inequality in particular in London is drastically larger than elsewhere in England, despite lower income-earners experiencing an increase in wages since 2011 and higher earners actually seeing a decrease (Clegg, R). Overall wealth is becoming increasingly unequal also, with the top 10% seeing an increase of 25% over the last 2 years (Clegg, R). Fig. 4 shows the English Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) from the year 2015 for the Greater London Area. The majority of Londoners living in poverty are also in a working family, this would suggest that many are perhaps overworked and isolated- reflecting a poor working environment and the levelling down of aspirations. It is seen that much of the region (>50%) is in an area of deprivation; this would result in a narrow worldview, with people mainly associating with others from a similar economic background, many would perhaps accept residential inequality as inevitable (Holdsworth, 2013).
Highlighted by the recent tragedy that is the Grenfell Tower collapse, Labour MP’s Emma Dent Coad exposed a damning report of inequality in Kensington and Chelsea (K&C) (Gentleman, 2017). This revealed that in some parts the average income can “drop ten times as you cross the street”, overall the borough has the highest life expectancy in England. However, this varies greatly within the borough- in Knightsbridge a male can expect to live to ninety-four, yet less than half an hour away in Grenfell this drops to seventy-two, having been six years higher in 2010 (Trimble, 2017). In addition, while the child poverty rate is in line with the city average there are some parts of the borough where it is over double that at 58% and in the most affluent road near Hyde Park it is only 6% (Gentleman, 2017). Taken from the Guardians website, Fig. 5 shows in stark reality the disparity within one small borough. The report received mixed reviews, with public outcry in the wake of the Grenfell collapse stressing the concerns around low-income housing in the area. Councillors reacted in varying ways to the report, with conservative MP Elizabeth Campbell recounting it as “opportunistic” however she also accepted they were already aware of the issues and would continue to try and overcome them (Gentleman, 2017). Dent Coad states:
“It is a place where inequality has become a gross spectacle. Where childhood poverty, overcrowding and homelessness live cheek by jowl with opulent second homes, palatial apartments for the mega-rich and vast outflows of rent to corporate landlords.”
Throughout the borough, there are at least 6000 residences owned registered tax haven businesses, meaning they don’t pay tax or therefore contribute to local councils. She calculates that there are 1,200 residences that are empty most of the time and there are over 9000 second homes in the area also (Gentleman, 2017). It is estimated hat in parts of the borough near Ashburn Place over half of the homes are empty with Queens Gate being a “ghost town” (Gentleman, 2017).
It can therefore be seen that despite the largely positive reputation London receives, it is not a powerhouse for the nation. While there are incredibly affluent areas in the city- there are also large discrepancies especially with regards to economic inequality. While overall both cities perhaps aren’t the most deprived, they both have incredibly wide bridges within themselves. It could be argued that due to the trends evident Glasgow is an urgent priority with which to be alarmed, however recent implementations from 2013 onwards by the city council itself, and the Scottish government has resulted in recognition of problem areas and aim to ensure any deprivation is improved upon. After hosting the commonwealth games, Glasgow received a tourism increase and more funding through the government to create greener spaces in the inner/outer city areas. All these components suggest an positive trend for inequalities in Glasgow and consequently the city should not be a high concern for geographers at this time. Conversely the city of London is not what one would assume to be a city with a large proportion of economic deprivation. To the outside as an economic powerhouse for the entire country, many of the affluent areas are almost exclusively available to the economic elite- where the average wage of £140,000 (K&C) is still not enough to buy a home with an average price of £1.5 million (Gentleman, 2017). Based on the information available in this essay, it would be accurate to describe London’s economic inequality as being higher in priority for geographers to be alarmed about.