Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
We’d pay more to save NHS
Nation backs 1% rise in income tax to boost our ailing health service Mcdonnell: We’ll get £17bn from rich and tax dodgers
THE public have backed paying more tax to help fund the NHS, in the largest such survey to date.
A week before the Budget, the national poll shows broad support for a 1% rise in National Insurance or income tax.
It follows warnings the service needs £4billion to maintain waiting time limits. In Yougov’s poll of 20,000 people for NHS Confederation, 58% back increasing NI contributions and 48% support raising the basic income tax rate to 21%.
Niall Dickson, of NHS Confederation, said: “These figures clearly show not only that the public supports more resources for the NHS, but that they are willing to pay more tax to bring that about.
“Just about everyone is calling on the Chancellor to act. Without action, our LABOUR would fund an annual increase of £17billion on day-to-day public spending by raising taxes on large corporations and cracking down on tax avoidance, the Shadow Chancellor said yesterday.
John Mcdonnell made the pledge as he called on Philip Hammond to end seven years of Tory austerity and announce an emergency Budget that pumps more money into struggling public services.
Speaking yesterday ahead of a pre-budget speech in London, Mr Mcdonnell ruled out introducing a wealth tax if he became Chancellor, but said Labour would fund the increase in public spending by ending tax giveaways to big corporations, clamping down on tax avoidance and increasing income tax for high earners.
He explained: “This is a wealthy country, but that wealth is held in health system will continue to deteriorate.” The Institute for Fiscal Studies said 1% on NIC would give £5.5billion; income tax £5billion. Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth urged Tories to “finally give the NHS the funds it needs”.
A Treasury spokeswoman said: “We can’t comment on Budget speculation.”
NHS data predicts a £3.9billion hospitals overspend by the financial year end. too few hands. Even as [the Tories] have been cutting public services to the bone, they have been offering huge giveaways to the mega-rich and giant corporations. “Tax cuts introduced since 2010 will cost over £70billion over the next five years. Every penny lost in these tax cuts means less money for public services.” Later, during his talk in the capital, Mr Mcdonnell said: “The Chancellor must immediately bring forward the funding needed to halt the crises in our public services – for the NHS, schools, and children’s services. Next week, the country needs an emergency Budget, not a Budget desperately designed to save the jobs of a weak Prime Minister and her embattled Chancellor. “The NHS has warned that five million people will be left on waiting lists if additional funding is not found in this Budget,” he added.