New figures show Britain is most unequal in Europe

And the Office for National Statistics analysis showed that some regions are up to 10 times poorer than London according to its Gross Value Added (GVA) measure, which tots up industries' contribution to the economy.

The Wirral and West Wales and the Valleys are Britain's poorest areas, with just over £11,000 in GVA per person compared to the inner-London figure of £111,000.

It means the wealth gap between Britain's haves and have-nots is twice as wide as any EU member state.

The other areas propping up the poverty league tables are Cornwall and the Scilly Isles, Tees Valley and Durham, Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire.

London, the north-east of Scotland, the home counties, Cheshire and some parts of the West Country enjoy the highest average wealth levels.

While GVA inequality was at its worst in 2009 the Con-Dem coalition government has stunted growth since.

Plaid Cymru Treasury spokesperson Jonathan Edwards MP slammed successive Westminster governments' failure to tackle inequality.

He said such differences were "immoral" and showed a complete failure of economic planning.

New TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "These regional inequalities are making whole areas of the country unaffordable, creating employment black-spots in other parts and are holding back our economy.

"We need a new growth plan that ends our reliance on financial services and encourages growth across the country.

"However, this will not be achieved on the back of sluggish wage growth and cuts to vital benefits that will serve only to entrench existing inequalities."