Over 330,000 excess deaths in Great Britain linked to austerity, finds study
More than 330,000 excess deaths in Great Britain in recent years can be attributed to spending cuts to public services and benefits introduced by a UK government pursuing austerity policies, according to an academic study.
The authors of the study suggest additional deaths between 2012 and 2019 – prior to the Covid pandemic – reflect an increase in people dying prematurely after experiencing reduced income, ill-health, poor nutrition and housing, and social isolation.
Previously improving mortality trends started to change for the worse after austerity policies introduced in 2010 when tens of billions of pounds began to be cut from public spending by the Tory-led coalition government, the study said.
The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, found there were 334,327 excess deaths beyond the expected number in England, Wales and Scotland over the eight-year period.
The findings come as the current Conservative government signalled a fresh round of major public spending reductions after the financial crisis precipitated by its mini-budget, including proposals to impose a real-terms cut to benefits for millions of working-age people.
The paper, led by the University of Glasgow and the Glasgow Centre for Population Health, concluded that there was a “clear and urgent need” for such policies to be reversed and new strategies to be implemented which protect the most vulnerable in society.
Prof Gerry McCartney, professor of wellbeing economy at the University of Glasgow and a co-author of the paper, said: “As the UK government debates current and future economic direction, it needs to understand, and learn from, the devastating effects that cuts to social security and vital services have had on the
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