Day 705 of the Labour government

0 British deaths since you opened this page0 in the policy gap

The Tribune

A standing record of UK government failure.

73,196

preventable British deaths in 2026 so far, across road safety, air quality, and preventative health.

703 / £24bn on roads · 13,180 / £12bn from polluted air · 59,311 / £55bn from preventable conditions

Total economic cost in 2026 so far: £91bn. Year-end projection: £208bn.

By year end on present trajectory: 166,602 — more than the population of Oxford. An estimated 32,000 would not have happened with best-in-class governance. Day 705.

Before Labour: 14 years of Conservative inaction on the same three issues. See manifestos →

All figures sourced. See methodology →

These are every reference to road safety, air quality, or preventative health in Labour's 2024 manifesto. Most are aspirational or tangential. The Tribune tracks all eleven anyway.

2 delivered · 1 partial · 4 in progress · 4 not delivered

Road safety · 2 commitments

Maintain and renew our road network, remains safe
NOT DELIVERED
Fix one million potholes a year
NOT DELIVERED

Air quality · 1 commitment

Take action to hit the Environment Act targets
NOT DELIVERED

Preventative health · 8 commitments

From sickness to prevention — 10-year plan shift
IN PROGRESS
Ban junk food advertising to under-16s
PARTIAL
Ban high-caffeine energy drinks to under-16s
IN PROGRESS
Recruit 1,000 more GPs
DELIVERED
Dentistry Rescue Plan — 700,000 urgent appointments
IN PROGRESS
Halve the healthy life expectancy gap
NOT DELIVERED
Opt-out smoking cessation interventions
IN PROGRESS
Tobacco and Vapes Bill — smoke-free generation
DELIVERED

Full manifesto audit →

Today's wire

14 May— Wes Streeting resigns as Health Secretary. James Murray appointed.
Wes Streeting resigned as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, citing 'lost confidence' in PM Starmer. James Murray (Ealing North) was appointed in his place — the third Health Secretary of this parliament.
29 Apr— Tobacco and Vapes Act receives Royal Assent. Cross-party origin.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill received Royal Assent, creating a 'smoke-free generation' by progressively raising the legal age of sale of tobacco. The policy was first proposed by Conservative PM Rishi Sunak in October 2023 and carried forward by Labour.
5 Jan— Junk food ad ban comes into force, with brand exemption loophole.
The junk food advertising restrictions came into force, banning HFSS product ads on TV before 9pm and paid online. A brand-advertising exemption loophole allows companies to continue advertising their brands as a whole — flagged by the Food Foundation and others.
21 Jan— Full Fact: Labour's million potholes pledge unlikely to be met in 2025/26.
Full Fact analysis of 85 council reports found no projected increase in pothole repairs in 2025/26 versus 2024/25, suggesting Labour's manifesto pledge to fix one million potholes a year is unlikely to be met. Funding for the pledge was to come from deferring the A27 Arundel bypass.

View full record →

Issue one

Road safety

UK Parliament

Heidi Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport · day 558 in post

703

road deaths in 2026 so far · ~50,300 casualties on present trajectory.

live · updated just now

deaths per 100k inhabitants (IRTAD 2024)

Norway1.6

Sweden2

United Kingdom2.4

Netherlands3.2

France4.8

If the UK matched Norway's rate (1.6 per 100k, IRTAD 2024), an estimated ~540 road deaths a year would not happen. Over a five-year parliament that is ~2,700 British lives.

Days since substantive action: No record. No comprehensive strategy published, scoped or budgeted in 705 days.

Promised: “maintain and renew our road network, to ensure it serves drivers, cyclists and other road users, remains safe” — Labour Manifesto 2024.
Delivered: nothing of record.

Notable: Labour dropped its 2019 Vision Zero commitment from the 2024 manifesto.

Write about this →Read the full record →

Issue two

Air quality

UK Parliament + devolved

Emma Reynolds, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · day 278 in post

13,180

premature deaths from polluted air in 2026 so far · 99% of Britons breathing above WHO guidance.

live · updated just now

PM2.5 µg/m³ (IQAir 2023)

Finland4.9

Sweden5.1

United Kingdom7.7

Netherlands8.7

Germany9

Matching Sweden's 5.1 µg/m³ PM2.5 (IQAir 2023) would prevent an estimated ~10,100 premature deaths a year.

Days since substantive action: No record. No legally binding interim targets to WHO guidance tabled.

Promised: “no direct commitment on air quality in the 2024 manifesto. Only 'meet the targets set in the Environment Act'” — Labour Manifesto 2024.
Delivered: partial measures, 2010 NO₂ targets still missed.

Notable: Labour's 2023 draft policy committed to a Clean Air Act. Dropped from the final manifesto.

Write about this →Read the full record →

Issue three

Preventative health

UK Parliament + devolved

James Murray, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care · day 27 in post (succeeded Wes Streeting, resigned 14 May 2026)

59,311

preventable and treatable deaths in 2026 so far · estimated £19bn annual cost to NHS and economy.

live · updated just now

avoidable, per 100k under-75 (OECD 2023)

Switzerland114

Japan135

Finland191

United Kingdom227

United States312

Closing the avoidable-mortality gap to Finland (191 per 100k under-75 vs the UK's 227) would prevent an estimated ~21,500 deaths a year.

Days since prevention plan: 705. Counting from the date of the manifesto commitment.

Promised: “from sickness to prevention — one of the three big shifts in our 10-year plan for the NHS” — Labour Manifesto 2024.
Delivered: mixed. Junk food ad ban delivered. 10-year plan partially published. No comprehensive prevention strategy budgeted..

Notable: Wes Streeting resigned 27 days ago. Junk food ad ban for under-16s passed May 2025.

Write about this →Read the full record →

The standing record, day 705

~95,658

cumulative deaths in the policy gap since this government took office, 705 days ago.

2 / 11

of Labour's tracked 2024 commitments on these three issues delivered to date.

delivered partial in progress not delivered

Larger than the entire population of Maidstone.

Your move

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Write to your MP.

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Letter preview · updates as you choose an issue

Dear your MP,

I am writing about the 703 preventable road deaths in Britain so far in 2026 — and the 1,602 that will happen by year end if nothing changes. The UK rate is now 50% above Norway's.

Labour's 2024 manifesto promised to keep our roads "safe", but no road safety strategy has been published, scoped, or budgeted in 558 days under Heidi Alexander. Labour also dropped its 2019 Vision Zero commitment from the 2024 manifesto.

I am asking you to press the government to publish a comprehensive road safety strategy with statutory targets, matching the standards of Norway and Sweden.

Yours sincerely,
[your name]

Drafting your statement

Dear your MP, I am writing about the 703 preventable road deaths in Britain so far in 2026 — and the 1,602 that will happen by year end if nothing changes. The UK rate is now 50% above Norway's. Labour's 2024 manifesto promised to keep our roads "safe", but no road safety strategy has been published, scoped, or budgeted in 558 days under Heidi Alexander. Labour also dropped its 2019 Vision Zero commitment from the 2024 manifesto. I am asking you to press the government to publish a comprehensive road safety strategy with statutory targets, matching the standards of Norway and Sweden. Yours sincerely, [your name]

Routing to

Your MP for —