30th June 2021

Sir Michael Marmot has written a report on the effect of deprivation on life-expectancy, with specific reference to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greater Manchester, where there was a death rate 25% higher than the England national average. His recipe for “levelling up” is to increase spending on healthcare and local authorities to improve people’s well-being and help tier life chances. I hope the government listens to him, but I’m afraid that Boris and co. won’t find those things as attractive as big infrastructure projects. After all, there are far better photo opportunities associated with building roads and railways and bridges than in increasing the wages of social care workers so that more people are willing to take on the job or removing the cap on council tax increases!

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