Over the past decade, the United Kingdom has experienced a disturbing trend: rising mortality rates and stagnating life expectancy. The UK has a long-standing public health system and significant medical resources, this is a cause for national concern.
Life expectancy in the UK has plateaued. Last year, 2024, rates returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. However, the rate of increase in life expectancy in the UK has slowed significantly since around 2011. Notably, England experienced one of the sharpest declines in life expectancy improvements among European countries between 2011 and 2019.
The Continuous Mortality Investigation data highlights that mortality rates had remained stagnant from 1974 and 2010 and then dropped steeply from 2010.
Mortality has consistently increased for people in the most disadvantaged areas for working age adults since 2010. Particularly cardiovascular disease and obesity.
Austerity has had a devastating effect on health. Commenced in 2010 and continued with no plans to reverse this.
These mid-life mortality rates mirrored trends from the USA. In the USA there are ‘deaths of despair’ from drug and alcohol related disease and suicide. In the USA these deaths have been linked to societal breakdown, economic precariousness and weakening public services. There are social determinants of health since 2010, including poor housing, precarious employment and decreasing public services. These have all been exacerbated by austerity. Preventable deaths, in the UK, from cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, and cancers have remained stubbornly high.
Meanwhile, in 2023 alone, there were thousands of excess deaths not directly attributable to COVID-19. Analysts have linked this to delays in healthcare, overwhelmed emergency services, and worsening chronic health conditions left untreated. All of these reflect more than individual medical issues—they point to cracks in the entire public health infrastructure.
Public health includes health services, such as hospitals and ambulances as well as the broader social determinants of health: safe housing, good nutrition, stable jobs, clean air, and access to community care. When these are neglected, the result is worse health outcomes across the board.
The gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest areas of the UK has widened. In some parts of the country, people can expect to live 10 to 15 years less than those in wealthier postcodes and spend even more of their lives in poor health. This is not just unjust it is totally avoidable.
People living in deprived areas are more likely to suffer from long-term illnesses, die prematurely, and face barriers to accessing healthcare. These are systemic issues reflecting a political failure to prioritise population health equally across regions and social classes.
The National Health Service was not designed to carry the entire weight of public health. It was a treatment system, not a prevention system. Well-funded public health initiatives are needed from early childhood. Interventions to address preventable disease.
Major causes of death in the UK include dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, ischaemic heart disease, lung cancer, and cerebrovascular disease. These are all possibly preventable diseases.
A significant proportion of deaths, particularly from heart disease and stroke, are considered preventable through lifestyle changes and addressing risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and physical inactivity. The fact that these remain leading causes suggests failures in public health interventions aimed at prevention.
The rise in drug-related deaths, particularly among young men in some regions, highlights failures in addressing addiction and providing adequate support services.
The UK faces numerous public health challenges, including widening health inequalities, a growing burden of preventable illnesses, an aging population living longer with major health conditions, and substantial unmet needs in NHS and social care services.
The significant issues including obesity, air pollution, alcohol misuse, and antimicrobial resistance, all contribute to mortality and morbidity rates.
Austerity and its harms are under-reported. Austerity is framed as economic necessity. The prioritisation of economic growth overlooks the impact on health.
Health researchers need to advocate that austerity is causing a health crisis. The continuation of austerity will lead to more damaging health trends. The current government are still considering cuts to health and welfare benefits. This will lead to a deeper and worsening health crisis.
What can you do?
You can consider your own health and how you can improve this and maintain good health. You can lobby your MP and local council about public health measures (open spaces for gentle exercise, pollution, housing and health services).
What can government do?
Provide adequate funding to local health authorities to tackle the root causes of illness, not just the symptoms. Policies to focus on the social determinants of health including housing, education, employment and this is not an exhaustive list. Government departments that implement changes such as austerity must be held accountable for excess deaths and poor health outcomes, with clear, transparent data and goals. Prevention saves lives and money. The government should consider carefully investing in early intervention, screening, and education.
Rising mortality rates in the UK is a statistical trend. They reflect political choices, societal priorities, and public health neglect. They are a result of significant public health failures that require urgent and comprehensive attention. Addressing the social determinants of health, adequately funding the NHS and public health initiatives, and implementing effective prevention strategies are crucial to reversing these negative trends and improving the health of the UK population.