Poorest families 14% worse off
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.THE INCOMES of the poorest 10 per cent of the population fell by 14 per cent in real terms between 1979 and 1991, according to government figures released yesterday, writes Rosie Waterhouse. The decline in income after housing costs is more than double the fall revealed by the Department of Social Security for 1989, which showed the poorest 10 per cent suffered a 6 per cent drop since 1979.
The figures revealed in the annual Households Below Average Incomes survey showed a staggering decline in incomes of the poorest households, Donald Dewar, Labour's social security spokesman, said. 'The poor have got poorer under the Conservatives. While average incomes for the population as a whole have risen by more than a third, the poor have seen their incomes fall in real terms. Inequalities have widened and the poor have received a declining share of national income.'
According to Labour's analysis of the figures, the poorest 10 per cent saw their share of the national income almost halved from 4 per cent in 1979 to 2.1 per cent in 1990-91; and the poorest half saw their share fall from 32 per cent to 25 per cent.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments