The Mancunian Way: Life expectancy improves

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Here is today's Mancunian Way:

Hello,

Today I bring you some good news. There have been ‘modest improvements’ in life expectancy in Greater Manchester. Apparently, it’s down to devolution. We’ll be discussing that in today’s newsletter, but we’ll also be examining it in greater detail in the coming days.

We’re also discussing ‘Operation Rolling Partridge’ or ‘Operation Please Don’t Underestimate the Local Press’ as I prefer to call it. Let’s begin.

Life expectancy has improved in Greater Manchester - and it’s down to devolution. That’s according to a new paper from researchers at the University of Manchester, which cites the region’s devolved health system as part of the reason for ‘modest improvements’ in life expectancy.

The study - funded by charity The Health Foundation - found improvements in life expectancy were larger within poorer local authorities with the lowest life expectancy prior to devolution when compared to similar areas.

Life expectancy rose faster in Greater Manchester compared to a comparable English area between 2014/16 and 2017/19 according to the study - which is published in The Lancet. The increase in life expectancy in our region was more than the average change in the same period.

The rise was higher for males, and larger in areas with low income. 'Significant' increases in life expectancy were observed in eight out of the ten local authorities. There was a decrease in Rochdale and no change in Oldham.

In the short-term, life expectancy remained constant in our region, but declined in