Progress stalls

INCREASING life expectancy is a sign of economic and social progress, so the end of decades of rises is a warning for the future.

Medical and scientific advances mean we should be pushing back the date we die.

Diseases and illnesses that led to early deaths are now treatable if not always curable.

Yet obesity and grotesque inequalities, which mean the poor die upwards of a decade earlier than the rich, are blights we must fight.

Restarting the forward march of life expectancy is a challenge for this generation, along with ensuring tomorrow’s Britons thrive in a fairer, more decent country and world.