Social care must win from PM’s tax gamble

ONE miracle of the modern world is that people are living much longer. Born of giant strides forward in science and medicine, the upside is obvious: We get to spend more precious time with our loved ones.

But as an ever-growing army of individuals outlive their apocryphal three score years and ten, it also brings difficulties.

Britain’s rapidly ageing – and increasingly dependent – population means social care has been perilously close to collapse for a generation. And the crisis is getting progressively worse.

Under this iniquitous system, prudent pensioners who are unfortunate enough to need long-term nursing care face the nightmare of being forced to sell their homes or raid savings to pay the eyewatering costs. By contrast the feckless, who have never saved a penny for their old age, get the same support for nothing, courtesy of the taxpayer.

No newspaper has campaigned more vociferously than the Daily Mail for successive governments to bring an end to this distressing injustice.

To their shame, however, ministers of all political colours – dating back to Tony Blair – have bridled at the huge sums involved, then turned their backs on the problem.

In showing the courage to bite the bullet, Boris Johnson deserves a hearty pat on the back. Keeping his promise, made when he became Tory leader, to protect the elderly and vulnerable by capping exorbitant care costs is morally right.

Millions of anxious people will feel enormous relief. No one should spend their dotage burdened by the fear of losing everything they worked diligently for.

In these pages, the Prime Minister writes how he acted after the Mail held his feet to the fire: ‘You and your readers deserve great credit. You urged the Government to grasp the nettle. And so we shall.’