Health Inequalities

Debate between Zarah Sultana and Jonathan Ashworth

Wednesday 4th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Ashworth]

I welcome my hon. Friend to her place. She is already an eloquent and passionate fighter for her constituents in Sheffield, and the point she makes is spot on: the reality is that 10 years of austerity has hit women hardest.

[Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab)]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Jonathan Ashworth]

I will give way to my hon. Friend, but then I must make some progress because, as I understand it, some Members want to make maiden speeches in the debate.

[Zarah Sultana]

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. Health inequalities between regions are stark, but there are also huge disparities across short distances. In my constituency, the life expectancy of men in St Michael’s is 13 years shorter than it is of men just 2.5 miles away in Stoneleigh, just south of Coventry. Does he agree that to reduce those shocking health differences, the Government need to tackle underlying economic inequality and systemic poverty, and reverse 10 years of Tory cuts?