"The figures show this: a child born this morning in Britain can expect to be in good health only until they are 61.

[degrowthuk@mstdn.social]

"The figures show this: a child born this morning in Britain can expect to be in good health only until they are 61. The last 20 years of their life will be blighted by illness: dodgy hearts, painful joints, an inability to get about. Our healthy life expectancy has been dropping for years; it is now the lowest since 2011, when records began."

This is a life and death story for the UK – so why is it being brushed under the carpet? | Aditya Chakrabortty
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/06/uk-death-healthy-life-expectancy-decline-state

#health #degrowth

[degrowthuk@mstdn.social]

"Starmer could have made the centrepiece of his manifesto living longer, healthier and better lives. He could have introduced policies designed to make that so, ...
"He didn’t do that. His team talked about growth being the centre of everything, the core of every department’s mission. They went for wealth, not health. They chose to tolerate inequality. They opted for more of the same as we’ve had since 2010"

#UKPol

[degrowthuk@mstdn.social]

Having said all that, the data needs a bit more exploration.
Scotland's decline began earlier and there is a lag of several years from the start of austerity to the precipitous decline in health: takes time for impacts to be realised? Multiple causes and intermediate processes. Reservoir of health in population gave time-limited protection?