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Five ways London is ahead of the rest of the UK

Tourists look at a souvenir stall on Oxford Street in central London, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2018. The British pound has fallen in value against a range of major currencies which make the United Kingdom attractive to visit for tourists, with the pound worth around US$ 1.26, and euro 1.10. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Tourists look at a souvenir stall on Oxford Street in central London. Photo: AP Photo/Alastair Grant

When it comes to Brexit, much has been made about the divide between London and the rest of the UK: Some 60% of Londoners voted to remain in the European Union.

But a new report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies outlines the ways in which growing economic divides explain the difference in feeling.

Real economic output of London grew by 3.1% between 1998 and 2017, while that of the UK as a whole climbed by just 1.9%. Chart: Institute for Fiscal Studies
Real economic output of London grew by 3.1% between 1998 and 2017, while that of the UK as a whole climbed by just 1.9%. Chart: Institute for Fiscal Studies
  1. Between 1998 and 2017, the real economic output of London grew by 3.1% — while that of the UK as a whole climbed by just 1.9%.

  2. Average weekly earnings among full-time employees in London are a full third higher than the UK average, and nearly two-thirds higher than that in the North East of the country. (Though high living costs in London, such as housing, mean that the difference in the standard of living is not as stark.)

  3. London also has greater social mobility: A child growing up in London to parents whose occupations are in the bottom third when it comes to average wages has a 30% chance of moving to the top third, compared with 22% nationally and only 17% in Yorkshire and the Humber.

  4. Some 8% of working-age people receive incapacity benefits for poor health in both the UK’s old industrial towns and main regional cites, whereas just 4.6% do in London.

  5. The gap in life expectancy between poor and affluent areas of the UK has also widened. In 2001, women born in the 10% most affluent areas could expect to live 6.1 years longer than women born in the 10% most deprived areas. By 2016, this stood at 7.9 years. (For men, it went from 9.0 years to 9.7 years.)

READ MORE: Huge rise in UK inequality 'threatens democracy'