The north-south divide in England’s life expectancy has grown over the past decade, because apparently the only thing more stubborn than a British stereotype is inequality. Provisional figures show life expectancy hit an all-time high in 2025 - men and women in England living, on average, 80 and nearly 84 years respectively - but the gains were overwhelmingly in the south, according to the King’s Fund.

Londoners, despite suffering the sharpest fall in lifespan during the pandemic, saw their life expectancy rise by nearly a year in the decade to 2023-25. The south-east, south-west and east of England also recorded gains. Meanwhile, the half of England’s population living in five northern regions - the north-west, the north-east, Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands and East Midlands - experienced little or no rise, reflecting greater levels of deprivation. People in London can now expect to live three years longer than those in the north-east. At the local level, the disparities are even starker: life expectancy in Blackpool, Lancashire, is 10 years shorter for men and eight years shorter for women than in Hart, Hampshire.

“In the most deprived 30% of areas, life expectancy either fell or didn’t improve over the past decade,” said Veena Raleigh, a senior fellow at the King’s Fund. “Meanwhile, it went up by half a year in the least deprived 30% of areas.” She noted that plans for levelling up haven’t materialised, and fixing this requires more than just the NHS - it needs secure jobs, fair pay, adequate housing, clean air, and affordable healthy diets. So, basically, everything.

The government’s 10-year plan for the NHS aims to increase healthy life expectancy and halve the gap between richest and poorest. The King’s Fund called the goal “unrealistic,” requiring improvements on a scale not seen in decades. Healthy life expectancy fell in all regions in the decade to 2022-24, with people now spending about 2.5 years longer in poor health. The regional divide remains at about six to seven years, but can reach 20 years between the most and least deprived areas. Those in the most deprived parts have shorter lives and spend more years in poor health - a double whammy, really.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the government aims to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy, acknowledging the “scale and complexity of the challenge.” They noted £2.2bn is being repurposed for deprived areas. “Someone’s postcode should never dictate how long they live,” the spokesperson said, which is a noble sentiment, though currently the postcode seems to be doing exactly that.