New figures from the ONS have shown that when measuring disposable household income, inequality has risen since last year. The Gini coefficient, which measures inequality across the whole of society rather than simply comparing different income groups, found that when looking at disposable household income, the Gini had risen from 32.3 in 2011/12 to 33.2 in 2012/13.

Statistics also show that equivalised disposable income fell for all groups except the richest quintile.

Duncan Exley, Director of The Equality Trust said:

“In George Osborne’s last Budget he announced that inequality was at its lowest level in 28 years. That statement already seems dated. By his own measure, inequality has now risen to the same level as before his Government came to power. It is worrying to see the complacency of politicians on all sides in refusing to recognise the dangers of our excessive inequality. We need a drastic rethink, with policies that address inequality reduction and a commitment from politicians that their policies will have a net reduction on inequality.”