Efforts to address longstanding regional economic disparities in the United Kingdom will require substantial investment, according to experts commenting on proposals by Andy Burnham, the prime minister in-waiting. A recent analysis by the Resolution Foundation highlights the persistence of income inequality between affluent and deprived areas over the past three decades.

The think tank's data shows that disposable income in Kensington & Chelsea, a wealthy district in West London, averaged £60,584, more than four times higher than Leicester’s £13,398. This gap remains largely unchanged since the late 1990s. In fact, over half of the councils ranked in the poorest fifth by income per person in 1997 remained in that category in 2023, underscoring how economic inequality is deeply embedded across much of the country.

Ruth Curtice, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, acknowledged some improvements, noting that employment and wage disparities have narrowed in certain areas. She pointed to Manchester’s economic resurgence as evidence that decline is not inevitable. Nevertheless, she emphasized that many of the UK’s major cities, historically key drivers of national growth, continue to lag behind.

Curtice stressed that transforming ambitions to reduce regional inequalities into tangible outcomes will demand investment in transport infrastructure, housing, and broader economic development on a scale not recently seen in UK politics.

Burnham, who previously served as Manchester’s mayor, has called for a comprehensive restructuring of governance across the country. He aims to implement what he describes as the most significant redistribution of power the UK has experienced, seeking to address the entrenched disparities highlighted by the Resolution Foundation’s research.