Barking and Dagenham has been considered as one of the least prosperous area in the entire capital and one of the worst in the UK, according to a new study.
According to the UK Prosperity Index, which looks things like education, health and well-being alongside the local economy, the east London borough is bottom of the pile in the capital.
And Barking was also placed 382nd in the country for prosperity by think tank the Legatum Institute, just seven places above bottom-ranked Kingston Upon Hull.
Newham, Haringey, Hackney and Lewisham were all ranked towards the bottom of the list, while Richmond was judged the best in London.
Waverley in Surrey, meanwhile, topped the survey and was praised for its historic market towns, quality of life and an unemployment rate of just 0.1 per cent.
The news comes months after Barking and Dagenham was named the most miserable place in the UK by RightMove.
In a robust defence, the local council said the property company was "having a giraffe", saying: "The borough is London’s growth opportunity with tens of thousands of homes and jobs in the pipeline – our horizon, like Barcelona, is blooming beautiful."
The Legatum Institute claimed that, nationally, the areas where people earned the least and had less opportunities were predictors of a high number of votes for Brexit.
Report author Harriet Maltby said: "The UK’s cities are letting down many of their residents by failing to turn their higher wealth into real prosperity, a prosperity as much about wellbeing as wealth.
"They’re failing because they are struggling to provide basic life chances to the large numbers who live there."
She said: "If there is no good school for your child, your environment and lifestyle is unhealthy, and you don’t have people around you to depend on, then many more life opportunities are closed to you.
"Theresa May is right to focus on those who feel left behind because this Index proves they have been."
0 comments: