Large parts of The North see life expectancy fall since 2010
For decades the gradual rise of health professionalism and the expertise of the medical professionals in the NHS saw life expectancy rise across the whole of our country. Of course there were health inequalities. But everyone could be confident that in general terms they would live longer than their parents and grandparents. In some parts of the country, this rise is continuing. But shockingly there are many areas - but especially in the North - where this has gone into reverse. And this change happened after the election of a Conservative Government in 2010.
Research by Imperial College published in the specialist journal The Lancet today has revealed a 27 year gap in the expected years of life span for men comparing Kensington/Chelsea and Blackpool.
This is totally unacceptable. Why should a child born today in parts of the North expect to have 20 years less of lie compared to another child born somewhere else?
It is impossible to avoid two conclusions.
One, the way the country is organised at present, poorer people are needlessly dying early. This is surely a crime. Over a century ago, a commentator described htis is 'social murder'. I will do a separate blog about this tomorrow.
Two, I am sympathetic also to the idea that there are hard working communities everywhere which are treated badly. But the North should not continue to put up with the way we are treated. I've long believed that the British Establishment only looks after its own. But they are largely rooted in a small part of London and the South East. Its time for the power over people's lives to be relocated.
Further Detail on Life expectancy
It revealed that while life expectancy rose in most places during the first decade of the millennium, from 2010 it began to decline in some places. Here is the BBC report:
"Areas in London and the home counties still continued on the path of living longer - but life expectancy fell in some urban parts of Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool and Blackpool where life expectancy was below 70 for men and 75 for women.
By 2019, the researchers say there was a 20-year gap in life expectancy between a woman living in Camden (95.4 years) versus a woman living in one area of Leeds (74.7 years).
And for men, there was a 27-year gap in life expectancy between areas in Kensington and Chelsea (95.3 years) and parts of Blackpool (68.3 years)
Average life expectancy in the UK is 79 years for men and just below 83 years for women"
Here is the link to the Imperial College full report: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/231119/life-expectancy-declining-many-english-communities/