There also still exists a noticeable gender pay gap in the UK, which was seven percent for full-time workers in 2024, down from 7.5 percent in 2023. Lastly, the monthly earnings of the top one percent in the UK was 15,887 pounds as of November 2024, far higher than even that of the average for the top five percent, who earned 7,641 pounds per month, while pay for the lowest 10 percent of earners was just 805 pounds per month. On November 4, Reeves made a speech to prepare the public and markets for a hike in income tax rates, which would break a key election promise. After an outcry among Labour lawmakers, and a better-than-expected update on public finances, she reversed course, opting for a smorgasbord of smaller revenue-raising measures.
Energy
When inflation peaked at 11.2 percent in October 2022, for example, core inflation stood at just 6.5 percent. After energy prices in 2023 fell relative to 2022, the overall inflation rate in the UK declined quite rapidly, with core inflation overtaking the overall rate in July 2023. During the most recent period of high inflation, core inflation peaked at 7.1 percent in May 2023, and while taking longer to fall than the overall figure, has generally been declining since then.
Legend says it was built by a giant who wanted a shortcut between Northern Ireland and Scotland, but really it was formed when the lava from a volcano cooled and formed these columns. Cool and creative, and part of Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2026 list, Bristol is a must-visit for art, culture and action-packed adventure. From palaces to cobbled alleys and even a castle on a dormant volcano, this city is a real show-stopper. Bring your big-screen dreams to life in the north-west Home Counties, a star player in Britain’s film and TV scene. Fall under the spell of the north-east of England on a set-jetting journey that’s laced with magic.
The nearby island polities of the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey are crown dependencies, in union with the British monarch, but do not strictly form part of the United Kingdom or any of its three jurisdictions or four countries, although the British government retains responsibility for their external affairs. The Isle of Man lies roughly midway between Great Britain and the island of Ireland in the Irish Sea, while the Channel Islands lie just off the northern French coast. From late 2021 onwards, various factors converged to encourage a global acceleration of prices, leading to the ongoing inflation crisis. Blocked-up supply chains were one of the main factors as the world emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. This was followed by energy and food inflation skyrocketing after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Central bank interest rates were raised globally in response to the problem, possibly putting an end to the era of cheap money that has defined monetary policy since the financial crash of 2008.
Money and tax
The most important key figures provide you with a compact summary of the topic of “The UK economy” and take you straight to the corresponding statistics. Unsurprisingly, the heat wave that spread across the British Isles in 2018 was the result of particularly sunny weather. This was more hours of sun than was recorded in July 2024, which only saw 5.8 hours of sun.
- Opinion polls consistently put Labour well behind the hard-right Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage.
- Despite having one of the highest levels of income inequality in the OECD,268269 the UK has a very high HDI ranking, including when adjusted for inequality.
- The CPI, along with the CPIH (Consumer Price Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs) are usually preferred by the UK government, but the RPI is still used in certain instances.
- The budget followed weeks of messy mixed messaging and political acrimony that continued into the minutes before Reeves stood in the House of Commons.
The Welsh Government is currently a Welsh Labour minority government led by the first minister, Eluned Morgan. Local government in Wales consists of 22 unitary authorities, each led by a leader and cabinet elected by the council itself. England accounts for 53 per cent of the UK, covering 50,350 square miles (130,395 km2).153 Most of the country consists of lowland terrain,154 with upland and mountainous terrain northwest of the Tees–Exe line which roughly divides the UK into lowland and upland areas. Lowland areas include Cornwall, the New Forest, the South Downs and the Norfolk Broads. Upland areas include the Lake District, the Pennines, the Yorkshire Dales, Exmoor and Dartmoor.
GDP growth
Between 2021 and 2023, inflation surged in the UK, reaching a 41-year-high of 11.1 percent in October 2022. Although inflation fell to more usual levels by 2024, prices in the UK had already increased by over 20 percent relative to the start of the crisis. The two main drivers of price increases during this time were food and energy inflation, two of the main spending areas of UK households. Although non gamstop casinos food and energy prices came down quite sharply in 2023, underlying core inflation, which measures prices rises without food and energy, remained slightly above the headline inflation rate throughout 2024, suggesting some aspects of inflation had become embedded in the UK economy. The UK’s high inflation, and cost of living crisis in 2022 had its origins in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The peoples who, over the centuries, have hewed an existence from this Atlantic extremity of Eurasia have put their own imprint on the environment, and the ancient and distinctive palimpsest of their field patterns and settlements complements the natural diversity. The next election doesn’t have to be held until 2029, and the government continues to hope that its economic measures will spur higher growth and ease financial pressures. The budget is a high-stakes moment for Reeves and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is facing mounting concern from Labour lawmakers over his dire poll ratings. Opinion polls consistently put Labour well behind the hard-right Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage.