Maternal death rate in UK rose by 20% over 14 years despite Tory pledge

Experts describe increase as ‘absolute tragedy’ after data shows rate jumped despite Conservatives vowing to halve it

The rate of women dying during or soon after pregnancy in the UK has increased by 20% over the last decade, despite the Conservatives having pledged to halve it, according to figures experts have described as “an absolute tragedy”.

In 2015, the then Tory health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, vowed to reduce maternal deaths by 50% by 2030 and make the NHS “one of the safest places in the world to have a baby”. In 2017, he brought the date forward to 2025.