The local and regional impact of the UK's welfare reforms

The Coalition government that came to power in the UK in 2010 is implementing unprecedented welfare reforms. These have the effect of substantially reducing payments to a wide range of low-income and out-of-work households. This article examines the local and regional impact of the reforms, showing how national reforms have a sharply different impact in different places. Taken as a whole, the welfare reforms affect derived areas most and are widening the gap in prosperity between the best and worst local economies across the UK.