A more equal society is good for you

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Published: 22 April, 2010

Reversing the wealth gap of the past 30 years  would bring massive gains to the United Kingdom, argues Kathryn Busby of The Equality Trust

“I increased the gap between rich and poor, vote for me.”

• A year ago no one would have guessed that the Conservatives would use this slogan alongside a picture of Gordon Brown as part of their election campaign.
There is a certain irony of a political party which oversaw a massive increase in inequality during the 1980s using this line to attack their rivals but it demonstrates that income equality is firmly on the general election agenda.
So will the politicians back up their fair words with forceful policies?
Some people have long suspected that many of the problems in our society stem from inequality of income and wealth.
Recent research, published in The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone by Professors Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, has shown that they were right.
The book describes the effects of inequality among 21 rich countries on a broad range of health and social problems.
The results are striking – more equal countries perform better on almost all measures of health and wellbeing.
The evidence shows that more equal societies are friendlier and more cohesive. Community life is stronger and there is less bullying among schoolchildren.
In contrast, when there is a bigger gap between rich and poor people have lower life expectancy, suffer more from mental illness, have higher rates of teenage births, obesity and violence, and are much more likely to be imprisoned.
We’re not talking about egalitarian utopias – comparisons between rich, democratic countries shows that even small differences in inequality make huge differences to health and happiness.
The UK and USA perform particularly badly and are among the least equal of the rich countries.
In contrast, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Japan all perform well and are among the most equal.
Reversing the trends of the past 30 years and halving income inequality would bring  massive gains to the UK, and although the main improvements are concentrated among the least well off, the benefits extend to all sections of society. 
In London, where so many people struggle to live on the minimum wage of just £5.80 an hour, estimates based on international experience suggest that halving the income gap would halve murder rates and increase the proportion of the population who feel they can trust others by 85 per cent.
In Islington alone these estimates suggest that the obesity rate could reduce from 16 per cent to less than 10 per cent, mental illness could decline from around 20 per cent to under 10 per cent, and the teenage birth rate could be cut from approximately 3.4 per cent of 15 to 17-year-olds to approx 1.2 per cent
The Equality Trust is calling on all political decision-makers to take action urgently and implement policies to reduce income inequality.
We have set up an Equality Pledge aimed at election candidates and more than 300 have already signed. This is largely thanks to the work of our supporters and dedicated local activists such as the London Equality Group, who have been in touch with every London candidate to explain why this issue is so important.
All four of the main political parties are now talking about their commitment to fairness and equality.
The Labour Party describes equality as “essential for our future” and included a small clause on socio-economic inequality in the recently passed Equality Act. The Liberal Democrats say they are committed to “tackling inequality in the UK on all fronts”. The Conservative Party acknowledges that The Spirit Level has affected their policy-making and have recently called for public sector pay ratios to be limited to 20:1. The Green Party has followed up their slogan Fair is Worth Fighting For with a policy of limiting pay ratios in all organisations to 10:1.
The Spirit Level has a clear message – equality is better for everyone and this is a chance to transform society. Let’s make sure our political leaders take it.
To ask candidates to sign the Equality Pledge see: www.equalitytrust.org.uk/pledge
To find out more about the London Equality Group see: www.londonequality.org.uk
• Kathryn Busby is policy and campaigns manager for the Equality Trust