The past week has been a tough time to be British and poor. Tens of thousands of Britain’s least well-off have been sent a harsh message by First Direct, one of the country’s biggest banks: “Pay up, or push off.” Earlier, Farepak, a Christmas hamper club in which 120,000 low-income Britons have scrimped all year to save towards family presents and celebration food, collapsed, confronting its clients with the prospect of a bleak festive season.
First Direct’s startling move marked a breaking of ranks with the rest of the high street banking industry. The online arm of HSBC, Britain’s biggest bank, said that customers would be hit by a £10-a-month fee on basic current accounts if they failed to either keep a £1,500 balance or pay in at least that amount each month, something that requires earnings of at least £24,000 a year.
The Farepak debacle did nothing to bring festive cheer to the country’s poorest, either. One observer dubbed it “A Christmas Carol for modern times”. They might as well have spoken of “A tale of two Britains”, for both this and the First Direct affair have thrown a spotlight on the growing extremes of wealth and income inequality in a two-tier nation. For the swelling legions of Britain’s mass affluent, it may well be the best of times; it is possible to say that they have never had it so good. Yet, while it is far from the worst of times for Britain’s poorest, “hard times” is still a pretty fair description.
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