Inequality: what does Britain really think?

Inequality: what does Britain really think?

From IFS Zooms In: The Economy by Institute for Fiscal Studies

June 11, 2026 · 48 min · Season 7 · Episode 16

About this episode

The episode explores the disparity between public concern over income inequality and support for government action to address it.

Around 80% of people think the gap between those on high and low incomes is too big. But only around 40% think the government should redistribute income from the rich to the poor. Why is there such a gap between concern about inequality and support for action to reduce it? In the second episode of our mini-series on inequality, we ask why people care about inequality, whether they distinguish it from poverty, and how views about luck, hard work, wealth and power shape attitudes to policy. Helen Miller is joined by Jonathan Cribb, Deputy Director at IFS, and Bobby Duffy, Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London. They draw on work for the IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities to explore what the British public thinks about inequality, what kinds of inequality worry people most, and what they want government to do about it. Become a member: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membership Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/podcasts-explainers-and-calculators/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Helen Miller

Guests: Jonathan Cribb, Bobby Duffy

Topics covered

  • inequality
  • public opinion
  • government policy
  • income distribution
  • social attitudes

Keywords

  • inequality
  • income gap
  • public opinion
  • government action
  • wealth distribution

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Institute for Fiscal Studies, King’s College London

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