London is a major reason for the UK's inequality problem. Unfortunately, City leaders don't want to talk about it

• In 2022, the richest fifth of the UK population had an income more than 12 times that of the poorest fifth.
• Many of these firms are located in the City, which the Corporation states “drives the UK economy, generating over £85bn in economic output annually”.
• An alternative perspective is that these contributions should be balanced against what the City takes out of the wider UK economy.
• In 2022, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned that the biggest boom in City bonuses since the 2008 financial crisis would further increase this inequality gap.

The City’s diversity smokescreen

• This is a complex picture, but few disagree that developing a more equitable UK economy and society requires significant structural change.
• Politically, this has been recognised from most sides amid often heated debates about the new levelling-up bill.
• Read more:
  Class and the City of London: my decade of research shows why elitism is endemic and top firms don't really care

Changing the national conversation

• I believe they are well placed to help change the national conversation, by asking more of their leaders on this front.
• Within many corporate organisations, the issue of inequality is positioned as part of corporate sustainability agendas, or the currently more fashionable “environmental, social and governance”.
• The momentum to help drive these and many other changes requires a majority of the population on board.
• We need its leaders to play a central role in our national debate about how to address this problem.