What’s it like being old? Rotten, says Professor John Sutherland in his latest book The War On The Old — and it’s made worse by what he sees as a systematic and malevolent conspiracy to airbrush the elderly and their problems out of public life.
He’s not just complaining about the NHS’s niggardly rationing of Viagra. While millennial pundits moan smugly about the triple-lock pension and free TV licenses, he argues, their grandparents are waiting years for routine operations, being ignored by the political classes and dying of neglect in privatised old folks’ homes. The picture he paints is of something close to a programme of extermination.
In this week’s Books podcast I ask him: come on, old boy, can this really be what’s going on?
You can listen here:
And if you enjoyed our discussion, please subscribe on iTunes for a new episode every Monday.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in