Many perceive the distribution of wealth in the UK to be more equal than it actually is. For 30 years the gap between the rich and the rest has widened and the trend shows no sign of slowing. The share of income going to the top 1% has doubled from 6% to 14%. If this growth continues at its current rate we are heading towards Victorian extremes in 20 years. The UK has the fourth highest level of inequality after Mexico, the US and Israel. Owners of multi-million-pound homes in central London (often the international super-rich) seem to live in a different world from those hit by the bedroom tax. However both are part of the same social fabric. The unequal society is driven by a more interlinked world economy keeping down wages at the bottom of the income scale so that working people compete with low-wage economies internationally.