“Men in East Renfrewshire live seven years longer on average than men in Glasgow, despite being only ten miles apart.” — Andy Burnham. Our verdict: Unverified.
Andy Burnham made the claim in a speech in Scotland on 16 October 2026, published on gov.uk.
Our verdict
Unverified
We could not confirm or refute this claim. The figures we found suggest the gap in male life expectancy between East Renfrewshire and Glasgow is slightly more than seven years, but the sources that give those figures cannot be used to pin down the exact number, and no source measures the distance between the two areas.
Know something that settles it? Send us evidenceWhat we found
The claim has two parts: that men in East Renfrewshire live seven years longer than men in Glasgow, and that the two areas are only ten miles apart. On the first part, the Office for National Statistics reports male life expectancy of 81.0 years in East Renfrewshire and 73.6 years in Glasgow City for 2021-2023, a gap of 7.4 years. National Records of Scotland reports 81.5 years against 74.3 years for 2022-2024, a gap of 7.2 years. Both point to a gap slightly larger than seven years, but neither can be used to establish the exact figure in the claim. On the second part, the only relevant document we found is an official map showing the boundaries of the two areas. It gives no distance, and no other source we found measures the distance between them. We therefore could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute the claim. If you have evidence that bears on it, please send it to us.
The evidence
3 of 5 sources support the claim; none contradict it.
- Background
National Records of Scotland figures for 2022-2024 put male life expectancy at 81.5 years in East Renfrewshire and 74.3 years in Glasgow City, a difference of 7.2 years. [1]
- Background
Office for National Statistics data for 2021-2023 put male life expectancy at birth at 81.0 years in East Renfrewshire and 73.6 years in Glasgow City, a difference of 7.4 years. [2]
- Supports the claim
National Records of Scotland states that male life expectancy is highest in East Renfrewshire and lowest in Glasgow City, so men there do live longer, but it does not give the size of the difference. [3]
- Supports the claim
A Scotland overview report provides male life expectancy data for East Renfrewshire and Glasgow from 2010. [4]
- Supports the claim
An official map shows the geographic boundaries of East Renfrewshire and Glasgow City, but it gives no distance between them. [5]
What we could not confirm
- Whether the gap in male life expectancy is exactly seven years, as the claim states, rather than slightly more.
- Whether East Renfrewshire and Glasgow are only ten miles apart, as no source we found measures the distance between them.
How we checked
We looked at official life expectancy figures for local areas of Scotland and Great Britain, a Scottish public health report, and an official map of the two council areas. We checked whether any of these sources gave the exact life expectancy gap or a measured distance between the two areas. We reviewed 5 relevant sources.
Sources
- [1]National Records of Scotland · Life expectancy increases
- [2]ons.gov.uk · Life expectancy for local areas of Great Britain - Office for National Statistics
- [3]nrscotland.gov.uk · Life Expectancy in Scotland, 2022-2024
- [4]20.0.114.104 · Scotland overview report
- [5]13.249.74.90 · East Renfrewshire Council Area
- [6]Original statement · Speech · October 16, 2026
- [7]Photo: Rwendland / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Help us check this claim
We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute this claim. If you know of an official record, dataset, transcript or report that settles it, send us the link. We review every submission and update this fact check when the evidence changes the picture.
Measured Take updates fact checks when new evidence emerges. Corrections are noted on the page.
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