Unequal Britain is a major new study conducted by the Policy Institute at King’s College London, in collaboration with the UK in a Changing Europe, to inform the Institute for Fiscal Studies Deaton Review of Inequalities.

The study focuses on attitudes to different forms of inequality in light of Covid-19 and shows that one rare point of agreement among the British public is on the need to tackle geographical inequalities:

• Britons across the political spectrum care about disparities between deprived and better-off areas, chiming with the government’s focus on “levelling up”.
• Views on inequalities between different ethnic groups are comparatively more divided.
• Gender equality comes low on the country’s list of priorities.
• Britons’ focus on hard work and ambition means they tend to have a relatively unforgiving view of those who have lost their jobs during the crisis.
• Appetite for change to tackle inequalities is still strongly influenced by people’s pre-existing political beliefs, indicating the pandemic has not shifted views.