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Margaret Thatcher's much loved trickle-down theory -Êliberate the rich from heavy taxation so that lucre drips through to those clinging to the bottom rung of the ladder -Êdefinitively does not work. A special edition of the Office of National Statistics annual Social Trends, published to celebrate its 35th birthday, reveals that the poorest 10 per cent of households earned £100 in 1971 while the richest tenth earned around £320.

By 2002-3, the household incomes of the poorest were still under £170 a week while those of the richest had increased to £670 -Êa £500 difference and still growing. Much of the growth in inequality occurred during the Thatcher era. Now, the early years provides at least one opportunity to help close that gap. But a report by the Social Market Foundation, Too Much Too Late: Chances and Spending on Education and Training, by Vidhya Alakeson, tells us that the UK invests almost three times as much in students in higher education than it does in children under five.

Alakeson points to research by London University's Institute of Education that says that as early 22 months, children are set on developmental paths - strongly linked to socio-economic background - which predict later educational attainment, or the lack of it.

The Labour government has invested sums which, initially, appear huge, in an effort to close the gap. At the recent annual conference for 4Children, the charity which supports policy and practice for child care and out of school activities, the children's minister Margaret Hodge said that by 2007, if Labour is elected, investment in early years education and child care will rise to more than £4bn. She went on to say that three years of high quality education puts a child, by the age of seven, almost a year ahead of its peers who do not attend nursery .

The return on investment is becoming more apparent by the day but rather than rob higher education students to support the young, a substantial overall increase is required for schools and early years. Last year, 4Children calculated that a budget of £10bn a year was required to adequately meet current requirements.
If we genuinely want to close the inequality gap - and there are selfish as well as altruistic reasons, including the principle of social justice to say that we should - then let the politicians be honest: Labour's budget for 2007 is only a fraction of what's required. They need to start making the case for more -Ênow. Voters will listen.