Oldham MP Jim McMahon challenges Government over life expectancy gaps

Jim McMahon

Oldham West and Royton MP, Jim McMahon has taken the government to task over the life expectancy gaps between the richest and poorest in England, as highlighted by the Marmot Review.

The Shadow Minister for Devolution and Local Government,Jim has called for a massive investment in human capital to ensure that people across England have the same life chances.

Speaking in the Commons chamber, Jim said: “Today the Manchester Evening News reports on the findings of the Marmot Review and its findings are truly shocking. It says that life expectancy has fallen for women and stalled for men, the likes of which we’ve not witnessed for a hundred and twenty years in England.”

“The richest men now live nine and a half years longer than the poorest and for women 7.7 years. The North doesn’t just need a re-balancing of capital it needs an investment in human capital. How can any levelling up address this austerity led crisis, so that poorest don’t see a decade stolen from their lives?”

Speaking afterwards Jim said, “We can’t let the government get away with presiding over the biggest regression in life expectancy since the Victorian era. The decade of Tory led governments and imposed austerity are clearly beginning to show.”

“As well as massive gaps opening up between life-expectancy, child poverty has risen and it’s worth pointing out that the Review points to the closure of SureStart Centres as a key reason for this.

It points out as many of us have been warning for years that cuts to local government are detrimental to people’s health.”