Life expectancy gap in different parts of the UK highlighted in campaign

Report finds lives are being cut short by up to 18 years in parts of the UK, due to environmental factors like toxic air, damp homes and unstable work.

Recent findings by campaign group Health Equals show lives are being cut short by up to 18 years in different parts of the UK.

The study analysis combined life expectancy estimates at a highly localised level for all four UK nations, and the results painted a bleak picture of the country’s inequalities.

The figures showed that inequality was not as simple as just a north-south divide, and that each postcode tells its own story of health.

The gap was calculated using small, neighbourhood-level data to give the most localised estimates of life expectancy available.

The results indicated that where you are born, work and live can impact how long you live. For example, life expectancy in places like Marylebone and Berkhamsted is 88. However, in places like Glasgow, and Grimsby, this plummets by 18 years to 70.

Use the Health Equals life expectancy tool to estimate the life expectancy in your area

The campaigning coalition is calling on Prime Minister Andy Burnham for a change in the law to make sure this and future governments tackle inequalities and help everyone live longer, healthier lives.

A statement from Health Equals said: “We are campaigning to make the nation’s health a national priority – not just for now but securing meaningful change that lasts beyond each parliamentary term.  

“If the government plans to stick to its promise and halve the gap in healthy life expectancy, then we need a change in the law that makes action on health inequalities explicit; a legal framework that ensures health is considered in every decision, across every government department, not just in the Department of Health and Social Care. Because our health isn’t just shaped by the health and social care services that we access, but by the world around us.”

Dr Nick Hopkinson, Medical Director at Asthma + Lung UK, member of Health Equals, said: “As a doctor, I see first-hand how the conditions in which we live, work and grow affect our health, and nowhere is the inequity starker than in respiratory health. Poor housing with damp and mould can worsen lung conditions, while bad air quality is linked to heart and lung disease. Financial insecurity also takes a serious toll on people’s mental and physical health. Over time, these pressures build up, leading to worse health and shorter lives.

“The widening life expectancy gap we see across the UK is not inevitable. By improving the building blocks of health, safe homes, clean air, secure work, sufficient income and healthy communities, more children can have a decent start to life, and people can live longer, healthier lives, regardless of their postcode.”

Sarah Tutton, CEO of DRWF, said: “For people living with diabetes, postcode and circumstance can still affect health outcomes. Tackling the wider social and environmental factors that influence health is crucial if we are to reduce inequalities and help more people live longer, healthier lives.”

Health Equals called for supporters to write to their MP to support Health Equals’ campaign to close the life expectancy gap and give everyone a fair chance of a healthy life via the form here