The Tories can’t possibly be surprised that life expectancy is plummeting – austerity works that way by design

Our ‘government of the people’ contains minds that dwell lovingly on the savings in pensions and medical costs. And yet they didn’t see this coming, writes Matthew Norman

A decade of cuts has taken its toll (Getty)

If the duty of any responsible government is to control inflation, tip your hat to the Conservatives for this.

After a century of steady growth in human life expectancy, it took them (with the enthusiastic support of the Liberal Democrats) less than a decade to slam on the brakes at best, and engage reverse at worst.

It flatters the architects of the cruelties euphemised as “austerity” and their capacity for strategic thinking to imagine this was their intent.