One thing to keep in mind is that even if all else being equal, being poor in the UK is much worse than in a southern country due to the climate and the energy

One thing to keep in mind is that even if all else being equal, being poor in the UK is much worse than in a southern country due to the climate and the energy requirement of heating. UK's awful building standards from back in the day don't help. Also, inflation and energy prices are worse in the UK than many European countries, compounding the problem.