No region spared as living standards fall

Every region of the UK has had a real-terms decline in living standards since 2019, with Tory constituencies facing some of the biggest falls in earnings, research has shown.

By tracking real mean and median weekly wages between 2019 and 2023, using the ONS’s Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, researchers have shown that all regions of the country are worse off. The biggest drop is in the South East of 7 per cent, followed by London and the North East (6 per cent).

The study, conducted by thinktank Autonomy, looked at wages in nominal and real terms across each parliamentary constituency.

While every region experienced declines, looking at earnings at a constituency level shows that 84 per cent of seats experienced falls in living standards, while 16 per cent had an increase in their earnings.

The five seats that faced the steepest slump in weekly earnings since 2019 included Tatton in Cheshire and New Forest West, which have both experienced a 22 per cent drop, Maldon in Essex and Islington South and Finsbury in central London, which underwent a 21 per cent fall and the City of Durham, which dropped 19 per cent.

The five with the biggest climbs were Aldridge-Brownhills in the West Midlands, Epping Forest in north-east London, Bolton North East in Greater Manchester, Eastbourne in Sussex and Orkney and Shetland, where average earnings grew by more than five per cent.

According to the study, Labour MPs represent the highest number of seats with the lowest weekly wages. But when looking at the biggest declines in weekly earnings, those areas are disproportionately represented by Conservatives.