Report

Two nations

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Social Justice sheds light on the exacerbated challenges faced by the most deprived communities.

The UK is in danger of sliding back into the “Two Nations” of the Victorian era marked by a widening gulf between mainstream society and a depressed and poverty-stricken underclass.

Breakdown Britain, which launched the Centre for Social Justice 20 years ago, conducted an unflinching inquiry into what life at the bottom of society was really like. This landmark report revisits key areas identified two decades ago as drivers of poverty, namely family breakdown, addiction, worklessness, serious personal debt and educational failure.

The analysis, conducted against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, sheds light on the exacerbated challenges faced by the most deprived communities.

This report reveals a widening gap between those who can get by and those stuck at the bottom, a gap that was further stretched by the impact of successive lockdowns. The lockdown measures, meant to curb the spread of the virus, had severe consequences on various aspects of life for the most disadvantaged. Mental health conditions, saw a significant increase during lockdown.