UK politics is in thrall to my postwar cohort. That’s to the country’s detriment Tony Blair at a Sure Start centre in 2006 Tony Blair at a Sure Start centre in 2006. There were more than 1,000 fewer in 2021 than in 2010. Photograph: John Stillwell/PA Fri 1 Jul 2022 11.11 BST 1,130 Bad news arrives from the latest census. My generation has finally overtaken the young, with more over-65s than under-15s in England and Wales for the first time in history. We, the postwar demographic bulge, now dominate the financial and political landscape, and not in a good way. A country growing old that favours its ancients above its young for crude political gain threatens to be backward-looking, unenterprising and afraid of shocks of the new. We sang that we hoped we’d die before we got old, but instead we live longer than ever. That’s a good thing – longevity is a sign of progress. It faltered in the last decade and fell back among the poorest women, as a direct result of poverty-inducing austerity that collapsed public health, as well as NHS spending per capita. You need to register to keep reading It’s still free to read - this is not a paywall We’re committed to keeping our quality reporting open. By registering and providing us with insight into your preferences, you’re helping us to engage with you more deeply, and that allows us to keep our journalism free for all. You’ll always be able to control your own privacy settings.