Fuel and travel costs are pushing prices up again
Thursday 5 November 2026
Inflation has risen to 3.1%, meaning everyday spending is getting more expensive just as household budgets are already under pressure.
Wealth inequality
The gap between people in what they own, after subtracting what they owe.
Key term
What it means
Wealth is what you own, such as a home, savings, shares and pension savings, minus what you owe, such as a mortgage. Wealth inequality means that some people have far more of this wealth than others. It is different from income inequality: you can earn a lot but own little, or earn modestly while owning a valuable home.
Example
Two households may each earn £40,000 a year, while one owns a paid-off home and the other has no property or savings.
Why it matters
Wealth affects financial security and the opportunities available to future generations, even when incomes look similar.
Related terms
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Economic growth
An increase in the goods and services an economy produces over time, after allowing for changing prices.
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Gini coefficient
A single number showing how unevenly income or wealth is spread across a group.
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Income inequality
The gap between people or households in the money they receive.
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Intergenerational wealth transfer
Money or other wealth passed from an older generation to a younger one.
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Net worth
The value of what someone owns, minus what they owe.
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Social mobility
How people's income, work or other life outcomes compare with the circumstances they grew up in.
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Top 1% wealth share
The share of all measured wealth owned by the wealthiest one in every hundred people or households.
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Wealth concentration
How much of a group's total wealth is held by a small number of its people or households.
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Wealth percentile
A point on a wealth ranking divided into hundredths, showing how someone's wealth compares with others'.
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Wealth tax
A proposed or existing tax on the value of wealth someone owns, often after subtracting debts.
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Keep in the loop
News
Highlights from about the UK economy, the UK government and the UK public sector.
Mortgage relief will have to wait a little longer
Wednesday 4 November 2026
Interest rates are staying at 3.75%, so households with mortgages and other borrowing may have to wait longer for costs to come down.
Energy bills are going up as winter approaches
Wednesday 4 November 2026
A higher energy price cap means many households will be paying more to heat and power their homes during the colder months.
Guides and insights
Analysis
Clear, accessible analysis of the economic issues shaping everyday life
Living standards
What does a day’s work buy?
Comparing the cost of everyday life across generations, from bread and beer to buying a home.
Food & prices
The journey behind your grocery bill
How farming, energy, transport and supermarket competition shape the price on the shelf.
Prices & inflation
Inflation is falling. What happens next?
What slower price rises mean for wages, purchasing power and economic recovery.
Shared prosperity
What would shared prosperity look like?
Beyond GDP: how we could measure economic success through security, opportunity and living standards.
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