Is the government responsible for our health? New research has found the UK’s health is going backwards for the first time. Some say we need to rethink how we pay for healthcare.
UK health is ‘going backwards’
Healthy living: As the UK’s healthy life expectancy drops for the first time, experts warn that the rise of lifestyle-related illnesses is threatening both the nation’s physical fitness and its long-standing social contract. Glossary
NHS - The National Health Service, the publicly funded healthcare system in the UK. The NHS was founded in 1948.
Welfare state - A safety net put in place by the government to ensure that no-one falls into poverty.
Populist - The term comes from the People's Party, which operated in the USA in the 1890s. Now, it is often used to refer to any movement that makes a distinction between the "people" and the corrupt "establishment".