In Defence of Marxism

London is one of the finance capitals of the world. Its economy is bigger than that of Sweden or Switzerland. Although it only has 12% of the overall UK population it produces 19% of national income. Average annual wages in inner London stand at £45,000, 45% higher than the national average. London is also the sixth-richest city in the world, and by the year 2020 it is expected to become the fourth largest city economy in the world.

However, there is another side to all this. Tower Hamlets, Newham and Hackney (all boroughs of London) are three of England's most deprived areas. In fact seven of the 20 most deprived local authorities in England are to be found in inner London. Half the children in inner London live below the poverty line. The gap between rich and poor is not narrowing, but getting wider than ever.

The youth are particularly affected. Youth unemployment stands at 20% and in Hackney, Newham, Westminster and Tower Hamlets forty per cent of households had no-one working in them. In Tower Hamlets there is a staggering 47.4% adult unemployment.

These figures were recently published by Iain Duncan Smith's the Centre For Social Justice. Iain Duncan Smith is a former Tory Party leader, so we cannot be accused of using a biased report!