Recent research has found that infant mortality rates and child poverty have started to increase in Britain. This is stark reminder of the real impact of the crisis of capitalism and the brutal austerity the system demands.
Tory austerity is killing our kids. This is the conclusion to be drawn from a new study by researchers at Liverpool, Newcastle, and Leeds universities, who studied infant mortality levels in England from 2000 to 2017.
Historically, infant mortality had been declining in England. But this trend went into reverse in 2014, at the same time as child poverty began to rise. The researchers found that between 2014 to 2017, there were a total of 572 “excess infant deaths” compared to what would have been expected based on historical trends.
Rich vs poor
What’s more, the study found that there was no significant change to infant mortality rates in the most affluent local authorities in England. However, a “sustained and unprecedented” rise was to be found in the poorest areas. As always, when capitalism goes into crisis, it is everyone but the rich who pays the price.
As the study notes, infant mortality is only the most severe tip of the iceberg when it comes to the impact of social conditions on health. Indeed, a study in 2017 linked cuts to health and social care spending to nearly 120,000 “excess deaths” in England alone.
Silence
It is clear that the Tories have blood on their hands. If any individual, or even a small group, killed nearly 600 children, their infamy would be known worldwide. If these deaths were the responsibility of a left-wing government, the billionaire press would be ablaze with fury.
But when it comes to the Tories, not a peep! Not a single mainstream media outlet reported on the results of this study.
When one person kills even a single child, they are rightly branded a monster and locked away for years. When a right-wing government implements policies that kill hundreds, we are told that this is “sensible economic management”.
Capitalism condemned
The reality is that these children are paying with their lives for the crisis of the bankers and the billionaires. Corbyn and the labour movement must say “no more: make the rich pay for their crisis”!
The wealth clearly exists in society to fully fund the NHS, social care, children’s services, and much more, but it is in the wrong hands. It must be expropriated and put to good use.
The rise in infant mortality in the world’s sixth richest country is the ultimate condemnation of a system that has reached its limits. It’s time we kill this system, to stop it from killing us.
