The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
‘Panicked’ May makes U-turn on social care
General election: But prime minister reiterates that ‘nothing has changed’
Theresa May has made a dramatic U-turn on her manifesto policy on social care amid signs that controversy over a so-called “dementia tax” was hurting Conservatives in the polls.
Just four days after the Tory manifesto ditched plans for a cap on care costs, the prime minister announced that proposals for a maximum payment would be included in a consultation following the June 8 general election.
The Liberal Democrats accused Mrs May of “panic”, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said her government was mired in “chaos and confusion”.
And the PM came under immediate pressure to reveal the proposed level of the cap, with rivals pointing out that it could still result in elderly people being asked to stump up six-figure sums for lengthy and complex care for conditions such as dementia.
Thursday’s Tory manifesto set out plans to include the value of elderly people’s properties when calculating how much they should pay towards the cost of care at home, as well as residential care. And it guaranteed that no one would see the value of their
“We have not changed the principles of the policies set out”
estate shrink below £100,000 as a result of care costs.
A cap was the central recommendation of the 2011 Dilnot Report into care funding and was due for introduction at a level of £72,000 in 2020, but Health Secretary Mr Hunt said it was not “fair” as it would result in people with multimillion-pound homes being subsidised by taxpayers who were struggling.
Speaking at the launch of the Tories’ Welsh manifesto in Wrexham, Mrs May said: “This manifesto says that we will come forward with a consultation paper, a government green paper.
“And that consultation will include an absolute limit on the amount people have to pay for their care costs.”
Appearing visibly angry, she accused Mr Corbyn of resorting to “fake claims, fear and scaremongering” over the impact of her plans and chided reporters who asked about a dementia tax for “using terms that have been used by the Labour Party to try and scare people in this country”.
The scale of Conservative concern about the phrase was reflected in an advert taken out by the party on Google, which directed users who searched for “dementia tax” to a webpage explaining their policy.
Mrs May denied her announcement amounted to a U-turn, saying: “Nothing has changed, nothing has changed.”
She said: “We have not changed the principles of the policies we set out in our manifesto. Those policies remain exactly the same.
“What we have done, which other parties have signally failed to do, is to recognise the challenge that we face, to respect the needs and concerns of the British people and to provide a long-term plan for sustainable social care which means that elderly people in this country won’t have to worry about how their social care will be paid for in the future.”
But Mr Corbyn turned her oft-repeated catchphrase against her as he said: “This isn’t strong and stable, this is chaos.”
Speaking during a campaign visit to Hull, the Labour leader said: “I’m not playing on anybody’s fears. I’m expressing the fears that a lot of people have and I suggest the prime minister, instead of blaming me, should look to herself and look to her team and look to the policy, or lack of policy, that’s she’s put forward.”
Mrs May’s climbdown came after a clutch of opinion polls showed Labour eating into her party’s lead.
Lib Dem leader Tim Farron branded the U-turn “May’s manifesto meltdown”, but said it changed nothing for families concerned about the bill for care for elderly relatives.
“I’m expressing the fears that a lot of people have”