Poll: National Insurance hike won’t heal NHS

THREE-QUARTERS of British people do not expect the rise in National Insurance contributions to provide the extra cash needed to fund the

NHS and improve social care, according to a survey.

People will have to pay 1.25p in the pound more from April to help the

NHS recover from the pandemic and support social care.

But polling by Ipsos Mori found 76 per cent of respondents said the NHS will need “even more funding” and 74 per cent expect that social care will also require more cash.

There was also deep scepticism about whether the policy will deliver improvements.

Only 37 per cent think the NHS will improve and that more people will be able to access social care.

Just 35 per cent say it is likely that staff shortages in social care services will be reduced or that the quality of those services will improve.

And only one third [33 per cent] expect NHS staff shortages will be reduced as a result of the policy.

More than half of people [55 per cent] think the tax increase is unfair for poorer people. And 45 per cent say it is unfair for young people.

The Conservatives had promised not to raise National Insurance in their 2019 manifesto.

Opinion is split on whether the Government should have broken this pledge.while 38 per cent supported increased taxes to provide more money for the NHS and social care, 39 per cent said they were wrong.

Older voters are much more likely to support the move, with 53 per cent of 55-75 year olds backing it, compared with 31 per cent of those aged 16-54.

Nearly six out of 10 [58 per cent] expect the policy to make the Conservatives less popular, with only 12 per cent expecting thetories’ popularity to increase.