New Social Care Tax Suggested by Andy Burnham
Andy Burnham has recently said that Labour should be ignoring “difficult headlines” while considering extra taxes which would be able to cover the rising cost when it comes to social care and has suggested a new social care tax..
Mr Burnham has said that his goal of having a National Health and Care service would be a “difficult financial change”, however in a speech in Leeds he recently said that Labour shouldn’t fear backlash when it comes to the “Tory press”.
His speech came in time for the Attlee Labour government’s 70th anniversary, and many see it as an attempt to get back into a struggle for leadership.
Mr Burnham aims to create a commission which would replace tuition fees and use a graduate tax system instead. His speech also included immense criticism of the Labour Party, and he accused the party of being frightened of its own shadow.
No one can forget the Conservative posters which had the heading “Now Gordon wants £20,000 when you die” before the election in 2010, and Mr Burnham has argued that this policy should feature in the manifestos twice, losing the argument both times.
When it comes to the £4.3bn shortfall which is expected for the care budgets by the end of this decade, Mr Burnham has said that social care should be treated the same as NHS, and everyone would make a contribution according to how much they can afford.
“This would mean that everybody would have peace of mind, and know that all of their care needs, along with their family’s needs, are covered”, he said.
Mr Burnham has also been clear about how much persuasion he would need to do to make this happen, however, he has accused the Labour Party of backing off, and being scared of negative headlines in the press.