Valleys residents will die younger

1.57.05pm GMT Wed 22nd Nov 2006

You can expect to live a shorter life if you live in the South Wales valleys

Welsh Liberal Democrats have expressed dismay at the news that people born in Wales can expect shorter lives than the UK average. The effect of the prosperity gap on life expectancy has been starkly exposed in new figures published today by the Office of National Statistics.

For example, a man born in Blaenau Gwent or Merthyr Tydfil can expect to live just 74 years, whereas a man from Kensington and Chelsea can expect to live to 82.

Lib Dem AM for South East Wales, Mike German said: "These figures highlight the simple fact that if you live in the valleys of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly or Merthyr Tydfil you are going to die a lot sooner than if you lived in Kensington. This is the class divide at its most brutal. Society at a whole needs to address this issue as a matter of urgency, otherwise we are condemning a generation of Welsh children to an early grave."

Local Lib Dem campaigner Veronica Watkins said: "It is wrong that a child born in the South Wales Valleys can expect to live a shorter life than a child born in a rich London suburb. Furthermore, child obesity could mean life expectancies actually decline for today's youngsters. The worst-case scenario is that the present generation of young people could become the first to have a lower life expectancy than their parents."