Mind the gap: Social inequality and the political agenda

Covid-19 response key to improving social equality

Inequality in its myriad forms was rising up the social agenda long before Covid-19 struck. The pandemic has since brought many of its worst effects into sharp relief, exposing longstanding fissures when it comes to wealth, income, gender, race, health, education, as well as the allocation of environmental resources.

Minority racial groups have suffered markedly worse health outcomes, for example, while remote working has favoured those with white-collar jobs and better access to technology. At the peak of the lockdown, roughly a quarter of UK workers were furloughed and paid by the state - astonishing given the government is headed by a Conservative leader who defeated a big-government socialist in a General Election less than a year ago. In the aftermath of the pandemic, we could see greater spending on the NHS, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak following through on their c...