BORIS Johnson will give a Number 10 press conference later today as he plans to break a promise on tax rises in order to fund England’s social care reform.
Johnson will be accompanied by his Chancellor and Health Secretary to take questions on the proposed National Insurance hike.
The Tory leader is facing anger from members of his party over the proposals, with former leader William Hague warning today that the broken manifesto promise will be a “defining moment” for the Government.
Scottish politicians have also been vocal on the plans, with the SNP warning “Scotland is being shafted”. Ian Blackford, Alison Thewliss and David Linden have written to Johnson warning that the increase would be the equivalent of a new poll tax, requiring Scots to pay the bill for fixing England’s social care problems.
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They warned particularly of the impact on young people and low-income families.
“Scottish families are already being hit hard by the £1040 Tory cuts to Universal Credit and the long-term economic damage of Brexit – they must not be forced to pay hundreds of pounds more each year for Tory failure,” Blackford wrote.
Johnson’s press conference is expected at about 5pm today.
This morning the Prime Minister has briefed his Cabinet on the plans before he sets them out in the Commons later.
Downing Street hopes to present the package as an attempt to help the NHS clear backlogs, as well as resolve long-standing issues around care costs.
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Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News that while he wanted to meet every manifesto commitment, the UK economy had gone through an “unprecedented shock” after the coronavirus pandemic.
Asked on Sky News whether he was “comfortable” breaking the 2019 manifesto commitment, he said: “I want to meet every single manifesto promise that we make, that’s the right thing to do.
“We have gone through an unprecedented shock to the economy because of the global pandemic and we’ve had to deal with it and make some really tough decisions.”
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