The effects of austerity will ripple on for years to come

Theresa May vowed an end to the Tories’ public spending cuts – but there’s no end in sight for those affected, writes May Bulman

Theresa May pledged last October to end the Conservatives' austerity measures (PA)

On the stage of the Conservative conference last year, Theresa May pledged to end the Conservatives’ austerity measures, declaring: “The British people need to know that the end is in sight. And our message to them must be this: we get it.”

The then prime minster vowed that Brexit would bring an end to the public spending cuts introduced in the wake of the financial crash a decade ago. Whether austerity can be ended quite so easily is in itself a matter of debate, but when Ms May told the crowds in Birmingham that Britons’ “hard work had paid off”, what she didn’t acknowledge was that for many in the country it isn’t possible to move on from the damage wrought by her government’s policies.

The impact of slashing health and education budgets, closing youth services and minimising social care funding over a decade doesn’t disappear just like that. It lives on for many years – it can last a lifetime.

This is clear from the latest life expectancy statistics. These lay bare the devastating and enduring effect austerity has had on this country. That a boy born in Richmond-upon-Thames between 2016 and 2018 can expect 19 more years of good health than a boy of the same age in Blackpool, and a girl born in Wokingham has a more healthy life expectancy than a girl born in Nottingham, is indicative of the stark inequalities across the UK today – and the fact that many children will be affected by austerity for many years to come.

Even more concerning is the fact that the gap is widening. Between the periods 2009-11 and 2016-18, healthy life expectancy increased by as much as 10 per cent in some areas, while dropping as sharply as 6 per cent in others. The difference is particularly stark in London, where the change among girls increased by as much as 12 per cent in some areas and dropped by as much as 9 per cent in others. Again, this shows how the impact of austerity lives on.

A year on from Ms May’s pledge, Labour politicians have promised in their election campaign that they will be the ones to truly end austerity, with ambitious plans to revive Sure Start and improve services for older people among other measures.

But the reality is that for many children born into disadvantaged families in less privileged areas over the past decade, the pain of austerity isn’t temporary – its effects are permanent.