U.K. Life Expectancy Stalls for the First Time Since the 1800s

(Bloomberg) --

Gains in U.K. life expectancy have stalled for the first time in more than a century, with part of the blame laid on the country’s post-crisis decade of austerity, according to a new report.

The review published by the U.K.’s Institute of Health Equity said stagnant life expectancy rates haven’t happened since at least 1900. “If health has stopped improving it is a sign that society has stopped improving,” it said.

The report will be latched onto by critics of austerity and the Conservative government. They have long blamed spending cuts for a rise in poverty and growth in the use of food banks in the U.K.

Author Michael Marmot described the results of the study as “shocking,” and said “austerity has taken its toll.”

The review also highlights the country’s stark north-south divide, with northeast England found to have the lowest life expectancy. Such regions are expected to be a focus of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s budget next month. He’s said he wants to “level up” poorer regions of the country and aims to target spending in those areas.

The government’s new approach to spending provides some grounds for optimism, the report noted. This “could, if allocated in the right way, help reduce health inequalities and turn around some of the trajectories and poor outcomes experienced over the last ten years,” it said.

The analysis came as new figures Tuesday show that income inequality is wider than previously thought, with the top 10% receiving 97,600 pounds ($127,000) in the 2017-18 fiscal year rather than 87,700 pounds. The Office for National Statistics said the new estimates are based on tax-authority data for the highest-paid people.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fergal O'Brien in Zurich at fobrien@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Andrew Atkinson, Stuart Biggs

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