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people living in poor areas Health More likely to vote for results reform uk, New analysis has suggested.
Experts from Imperial College London looked at Voting data from the 2024 general electionWhen? Nigel FarageThe party won five seats in England, and found itself returning three out of five constituencies (60 percent). Improvement MP was ranked fifth most deprived in the country, compared to 103 (29.7 per cent) Labor constituencies.
The study, published in BMJ Open Respiratory Research, found that the strongest associations between voting for Mr Farage’s party and conditions in constituencies were for obesity, COPD and epilepsy.
Reform-voting areas had the highest proportion of people over the age of 65, and people were more likely to suffer from 15 out of 20 health conditions than other areas.
Diseases include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic kidney disease, coronary heart disease, dementia, depression, diabetes, learning disabilities, arthritis and obesity.
The researchers said the main finding of their analysis was “an association between poor health care metrics at the constituency level and votes for Reform UK”, and the results are consistent with US data that show “an association between poor health care measures and Republican voting”.
He said the analysis should show reform policy makers that “there are serious health issues in their constituencies that must be addressed”.
He also pointed to a period of austerity in the UK that was “exacerbated” by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said had “contributed to the fact that many people with long-term lung conditions are deprived of basic aspects of care, which may fuel frustration with the status quo”.
Of the five areas electing Reform MPs in the summer of 2024, three were coastal: Great Yarmouth, Clacton and Boston and Skegness. The researchers highlighted a previous report that indicated coastal areas are known to have an older population with long-term conditions.
Independent Reform UK has been contacted for comment.
a spokesperson for Department of Health and Social Care Said: “This Government has put the NHS on the path to recovery after more than a decade of decline.
“We have delivered five million extra appointments, cut waiting lists by more than 200,000 and recruited 2,000 more GPs.
“This year we are investing an extra £26 billion as we modernize the health service to give patients more control over their healthcare, including launching online booking for GP appointments this month.”