Dear Sir,
For over a hundred years, up until 2010, life expectancy generally improved by about one year every four years, and England experienced continuous improvements in life expectancy, but from 2011 these improvements slowed dramatically, almost grinding to a halt, with the biggest decreases in life expectancy seen in the most deprived 10 per cent of neighbourhoods in the North East.
Life expectancy for the UK’s poorest women has now fallen for the first time in 100 years, once again this evidences that the Tory ideology of ‘Austerity’ is hitting women more greatly.
Professor Marmot, the author of the report said, “If health has stopped improving, that means society has stopped improving and if health inequalities continue and in fact increase, that means inequalities in society have been increasing,” and states that “Austerity has taken a significant toll on equity and health and it is likely to continue to do so.”
The cost of tackling health problems linked to deprivation could reach about £82 billion a year in lost taxes, higher welfare payments and increased NHS and social care costs.
Labour’s shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, said: “This is a devastating verdict on 10 years of austerity under the Conservatives and demands urgent action from Boris Johnson”.
With child poverty now at 30% in the UK, and poverty related child mortality rising, it is clear this government clearly has very little concern about the impact its policies are having on our nation’s population, or the resulting inequality it causes.
Members of Sedgefield Labours Woman’s Forum and Sedgefield Labour do care about these issues and are doing what we can to help those in our community. Please join us. Together we can make a difference.
Sedgefield Labour Women’s Forum.
