'Brexit boom' gives Britain record 134 billionaires, fuelling inequality fears, Guardian, 7 May 2017:
Britain has more billionaires than ever in what equality campaigners said was a clear sign the UK economy is only working for the few at the top.
There are now 134 billionaires based in the UK according to this year’s Sunday Times Rich List, 14 more than the previous highest total, as the super-rich reap the benefits of a “Brexit boom”. Fifteen years ago, there were 21.
The annual rich list showed that the wealthiest 1,000 individuals and families in Britain have combined wealth of £658bn, up from £575bn last year, despite fears that the Brexit vote last June would plunge the economy into a fresh turmoil.
“While many of us worried about the outcome of the EU referendum, many of Britain’s richest people just kept calm and carried on making billions,” said Robert Watts, the compiler of the rich list.
Brexit is already starting to make families poorer, Bank of England warns, Independent, 11 May 2017:
The impact of Brexit will contribute to a dramatic drop in real-terms pay this year, the Bank of England has warned, with average workers due to be left hundreds of pounds out of pocket.
Inflation will be higher than pay growth, the Bank’s Governor Mark Carney predicted – marking the first year since 2013 that workers have been hit by a real-terms cut in take-home pay.
Salaries will be almost £1,000 lower than forecast before the Brexit vote, ministers have been warned, and £320 down on predictions just three months ago.
The grim outlook, delivered four weeks before the general election, was “another sign of the Brexit squeeze”, the Liberal Democrats warned.
Brexit just seems to be another way to impoverish the many while transferring their wealth to the few. But I guess that's just how politics works in the UK now.
