A leading academic has laid bare the damage done to the health of the poorest during the years of austerity in the UK.

Director of the Institute of Health Equity at the University of Central London Professor Sir Ian Marmot told MPs at Westminster that from 2010 to 2020 some £170-180 billion a year had been cut from public spending. Even worse, the cuts hit the poorest areas hardest.

Prof Marmot told the Communities, Housing and Local Government Committee the effects could be seen in poorer health and even in stalling life expectancy:

“We plotted life expectancy for every local authority in England in 2010, and the subsequent change in local government spending power. The shorter the life expectancy in 2010, the steeper the reduction in local government spending power over the next 10 years, so the more unhealthy the community, the more money was taken away.”

Prof Marmot estimated that austerity had “killed 148,000 people” and life expectancy did not improve at all, health inequalities grew bigger and health for the poorest people became worse.

He added angrily:

“I look at that and say, ‘In what moral universe could that be the right thing to do? How could you possibly justify that?’ The sicker the community, the more money we’ll take away. That needs to be reversed immediately … It’s bad for health, and it’s bad for productivity. It violates all norms of fairness and morality; it’s just completely wrong.”

Prof Marmot called for a green budget to insulate homes for those who cannot afford it and to make inroads into fuel poverty. He pointed out that England previously had a home insulation programme but after 2013 it went down by 90%. He said: “We have among the worst quality in Europe. If you look at the loss of heat over a five-hour period, the loss is greater in housing in the UK than in other European countries. Our energy costs are at least 20% higher than the European average.”

He cited Joseph Rowntree Foundation research that found the median income in the UK is close to the minimum income for healthy living. In other words, people on average incomes can just about get by, but about half the population don’t have enough money coming in to lead a healthy life, including heating their homes properly.