There's a lot of factors in a person's upbringing that determines their life chances.

In this country, the postcode lottery pervades every facet of our lives.

How well we get on in school, how much air pollution we breathe, and how readily available broadband is, are all determined by which part of the country we grow up in, and by how wealthy and connected it is.

Grow up in a deprived area, in a northern inner city with little job prospects, well, you'll probably live and die there.

But grow up in the south-east of England, with parents who send you to an elite school, and you just might be Prime Minster one day.

Shockingly, this game of life applies to our life expectancy.

The NHS was founded on the principle that no matter what your background, you will be provided with a level of care the same as everyone else.

And yet, if you live in Barrow, and are unlucky enough to develop cancer, you are less likely to survive solely based on where you live.

As The Mail reports on page 2, those who live more than 45 minutes away from a radiotherapy centre are less likely to survive.

In Cumbria, 50% of cancer patients live that far from a radiotherapy centre. It's time to end this postcode lottery.