Lib Dems in ‘flagship pledge’ to ringfence £6 billion to fund health and social care
The Liberal Democrats have said their pledge to put a penny on income tax to fund a cash injection for the NHS and social care is about being “straightforward and honest” with voters.
Described as their “flagship” spending commitment of the election campaign, party leader Tim Farron said the policy was “the first time a party has offered a real alternative to the current decline in health and social care”.
Under the Lib Dem plan, 1p would be added to the basic, higher and additional rates of income tax and the rate of dividend tax from the next financial year, with the £6 billion raised being “ring-fenced” for the NHS, social care and public health.
The announcement comes as Theresa May insists the Conservatives have no plans for tax rises while appearing to back away from a previous pledge not to put up income tax or national insurance.
Speaking during a visit to the Riverside Medical Centre GP surgery, in Vauxhall, south London, Mr Farron told the Press Association: “Politicians are often scared of saying things like this.
“My view is, you’ve got to be bold and tell the truth if you want to be believed and be supported – and the Liberal Democrats are being very straightforward and honest.”
Mr Farron insisted the public realised the need to address the “chronic state” of healthcare and would support the tax hike.
“Everybody in the health and social care services knows the solution – and the solution is an additional amount of money that we will all pay into,” he said.
“I think that’s something that the British people will want to do, because all of us have experienced in our own families the need that there is. So here is a solution.
“The Liberal Democrats are providing the only alternative to Conservative additional cuts in health and social care.”
The party’s health spokesman Norman Lamb said “the NHS is on its knees”, with growing waiting lists and an “insidious trend” of wealthy people “opting out of long waiting times”.
He told the Press Association: “I think actually the public are crying out for politicians to be straight with people about this.
“Let’s just end this awful claim that the NHS can get by with the amount of money the Conservatives are investing in it.”
The Lib Dems pointed to an opinion poll finding from last year, which suggested 70% of voters would back a 1p rise in income tax if the money was guaranteed to go to the NHS, to claim strong public support for the plan.
According to figures released by the party, the rise would mean an increase of £33 per year – or less than £1 per week – for someone on £15,000 a year, rising to £133 per year – or less than £3 per week – for someone earning £25,000.
At the top end, someone earning £150,000 would pay an additional £1,500 a year – a £29-a-week increase – while someone on £250,000 would see their annual tax bill rise by £2,500 – an increase of £48 per week.
In the longer term, the Lib Dems said they would bring in a dedicated health and care tax, bringing spending on both services together in a collective budget while setting out on people’s payslips what is being spent on them.
The party said it would also seek to establish a cross-party health and care convention to review longer term sustainability of the health and care finances while setting up an office of health and care funding, similar to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Asked about the Lib Dem plans during a campaign visit to Wolverhampton, Mrs May said: “First of all, of course, our record as a Government is that we’re putting £10 billion extra into the NHS and at the Budget we announced £2 billion extra for social care.
“I think what we’ve seen from the announcement from the Lib Dems today is that if you look across the other parties, the Lib Dems, the Labour Party, the SNP, they would cost millions of people money in their pockets because they would be wanting to put up taxes. That’s their instinct.
“We have always been a low-tax party and we’re the only party which has the intention and wants to reduce tax on ordinary working families.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party would properly fund health and social care, but would not be raising taxes for lower or middle income earners.
“We’re looking much more at the top end of the scale and corporate levels of taxation, because raising the basic level of income tax obviously means you affect people on lower and middle incomes,” he said.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2017, All Rights Reserved. Pictured – Tim Farron and Norman Lamb speak to NHS staff and patients at Riverside Medical Centre GP Surgery in south London (c) Lauren Hurley / PA Wire.
