Voters back tax hike to boost health service
VOTERS would back increased tax to fund the NHS and end the financial crisis in healthcare, according to a new poll.
The British Social Attitudes Survey found 61 per cent of adults polled said they would pay more to save the struggling health service.
This was up from 49 per cent in 2016 and 41 per cent in 2014.
Support for the move comes amid growing concern that the NHS is on the verge of a financial crisis.
It is estimated that by 2022 there will be a funding gap of £20billion in the NHS, despite it escaping the worst of austerity with real-terms rises of around two per cent a year since 2010.
From those who said they are willing to pay more, 35 per cent said they would back a new “separate tax that would go directly to the NHS”, while 25 per cent said a hike in National Insurance would be fine. Tax campaigners warned against the move.
Alex Wild, of The TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Health spending is already running at £425million per day and the public rightly believe that the NHS needs reform more than extra money.
“Throwing more money into a poorly designed system will just mean higher pay for staff and lower productivity – exactly what happened in the 2000s.
“Earmarking taxes for specific budgets is either smoke and mirrors or dreadful policy, depending on how it’s done.”
The poll follows strong hints by Theresa May that she is going to significantly boost health spending and wants to give the NHS a long term funding plan where its finances are decided for a decade at a time.
Chris Ham, boss of the King’s Fund health thinktank, welcomed the survey results.
He said: “If I was sitting in Whitehall I would sit up and take notice. I have not seen anything as dramatic as this over such a time period. It’s a wake-up call for ministers to follow through on Theresa May’s commitment.”