Economy Workers are losing out on £10,000, says thinktank

British workers are missing out on £10,700 a year after more than a decade of weak economic growth and high inequality, according to a major report warning that UK living standards are falling behind comparable rich nations.

- Richard Partington

In a damning report on the economy, the Resolution Foundation and the London School of Economics' Centre for Economic Performance called for a rethink of economic strategy after 15 years of relative decline. It said a living standards gap of £8,300 had opened up between households in Britain and their average peers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands, and blamed a "toxic combination" of low growth and inequality.

The result of a three-year inquiry by a group of the nation's top academics, businesspeople and policymakers, the study warned that a generation of younger adults was being failed with 9 million having never worked in an economy with sustained average wage rises.

Rishi Sunak is preparing for a general election next year against a backdrop of a continuing cost of living crisis and heavy criticism for the Conservatives over their economic record after 13 years in power.