Tories stay firm over NI increase to support NHS
THE Culture Secretary has predicted a Tory bounceback after a new poll suggested their lead had slipped following the announcement of the Government’s social care tax hike.
A Yougov survey found that backing for the Tories had fallen by five points to 33% after Boris Johnson announced an increase to National Insurance contributions to pay for social care reforms.
The dip sees Labour take the lead on 35% – the first time Sir Keir Starmer’s party has been out in front since January.
Among those who voted for the tax hike were Oliver Dowden’s fellow Tories Kate Griffiths and Heather Wheeler, the MPS respectively for Burton and South Derbyshire.
The PM secured the support of the Commons this week for his controversial £12 billion tax rise to deal with the NHS Covid backlog and reform social care funding.
Ministers intend to raise National Insurance contributions by 1.25 percentage points to pay for the changes.
Five Conservative MPS voted against the motion, with 37 not recording a vote. Mr Dowden said despite the poll result, he thought voters could still “reward” the Tory Government at the next election for taking a decision on social care which he argued was designed to “protect the long-term national interest”.
Asked about the Yougov poll findings on Sky News, the minister said “opinion polls come and go” and praised the Prime Minister for refusing to shirk the social care challenge.
He said: “When you come to the next general election, which is some time away, people will weigh that up and what they will see as a result of this is, because we have put the extra money into the NHS, we have avoided a crisis in the NHS, we have increased capacity in the NHS and we have finally, after many governments previously ducked this challenge of social care – I remember 10, 15 years ago we were talking about this – finally, the Prime Minister has actually done something about this.
“And I think, in the end, the electorate reward governments who are willing to take difficult decisions in order to protect the longterm national interest, and that is what that decision is all about.”
According to the Government’s own analysis, the tax hike proposed to pay for the health investment could mean a further burden on those “just about managing financially”, with their income set to reduce.
In the 2022 to 2023 tax year, someone earning an average basic rate taxpayer’s income of £24,100 would be expected to pay an additional £180, and someone earning an average higher rate taxpayer’s income of £67,100 would pay an additional £715.
Explaining her reason for backing Mr Johnson’s plans, Ms Griffiths
said: “The NHS and Social Care Plan put forward this week represents the most significant catch-up programme in NHS history and addresses the problems in social care that successive governments have ducked for decades.
“This Government is taking difficult decisions, and I know the people of Burton and Uttoxeter understand the extraordinary lengths the Government and the health service have gone to over the last 18 months to protect lives and livelihoods.
“This new tax will break a commitment in the Conservative manifesto that there would be no increases in income taxes, VAT or National Insurance, and voters have every right to question why the Government they voted for is making such a drastic move.
“As the Prime Minister set out in his statement, the pandemic and the measures taken to support the NHS, to develop and distribute vaccines and to protect jobs and businesses were not anticipated in 2019, and the Government cannot ignore the £400bn hole in public finances this has caused.”
Mrs Wheeler said: “The rise in National Insurance will ensure that health and social care is properly funded. Additionally, the new £86,000 cap will protect families from selling their home to afford care for loved ones.”
Lichfield Tory MP Michael Fabricant was also approached for a comment but he did not respond.