The Guardian view on deprived neighbourhoods: incomes as well as places need a boost | Editorial

<p>Labour must not ignore the warnings contained in the updated index of multiple deprivation</p><p>What does it mean for a neighbourhood to be poor? Since the 1970s, the UK government has regularly sought to answer this question by pulling together a range of statistics about the people who live there. The aim is to enable funding to be directed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/oct/30/almost-all-children-in-73-areas-of-england-live-in-low-income-households">where it is most needed</a>, and to make possible place-based initiatives alongside those aimed at individuals or households.</p><p>For a Labour government <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/oct/29/the-novelty-will-wear-off-labour-hopes-publicity-will-be-farages-downfall">trailing Reform UK in the polls</a>, the latest data – which is weighted towards income and employment, but also includes health and educational outcomes – should serve as a wake-up call. Virtually all the areas in England either trapped in the “most deprived”, or climbing up the ranks to join them, are in the party’s urban or post-industrial heartlands.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/30/the-guardian-view-on-deprived-neighbourhoods-incomes-as-well-as-places-need-a-boost">Continue reading...</a>