In 2014, I conducted some research on inequality in Kensington and Chelsea, and discovered that the borough is ‘the most unequal borough in Britain’. I have updated this statistical work in the ensuing years.
Sadly, some areas of inequality have become worse. For example, in Beaufort Place off Knightsbridge, health deprivation is almost non-existent, and in the area around Harrods, life expectancy for men is an incredible 92! However, in Golborne Ward, North Kensington, which I represent as Councillor, average life expectancy has dropped from 78 in 2010 to just 72 – a decrease unprecedented in any other part of the country. And in Wornington Green off Golborne Road, life expectancy for a Moroccan man is just 63.
So in Kensington, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
In November 2017 I wrote a report ‘After Grenfell: Housing and Inequality in “the most unequal borough in Britain” ’. [Housing & Inequality in K&C] The report looks at a number of areas of inequality, focusing on housing and related health issues.
It is shameful that a well resourced council has refused to tackle the causes of poverty and decreasing life expectancy, and in many ways, has entrenched social divides. This should not be a party political issue; it is a question of decency, integrity and fairness. It is what makes us human.
