Ex-Government adviser says tax hikes are an affront to young and poor

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

68% : Under his scheme, national insurance will rise by 1.25 percentage points - for both employers and employees - ultimately providing over £12billion a year for the NHS and social care.
59% : So when Boris Johnson rose to unveil his plan for the future of social care in the House of Commons yesterday
56% : But the reality is that everyone, including current generations of workers, will benefit from a properly funded, well-run care system, just as everyone gains from the NHS or free education.
55% : Politically, however, raising national insurance is easier than raising income tax.
55% : If it is to work, the Prime Minister's promise to 'fix the crisis in social care once and for all' must come with the transparency Germany and Japan have used in their world-leading insurance systems.
55% : By that time, ministers need to have had a frank conversation with the public about how social care can be reformed to provide better treatment for the elderly and disabled.
54% : : I passionately support putting more money into social care and solving a problem that has bedevilled policymakers for a generation.
54% : Twenty-three years since Tony Blair promised to address social care, and four prime ministers and ten health secretaries later, credit must go to Boris Johnson for grasping this nettle.
52% : So why did the Government resort to raising national insurance rather than taxing income or wealth?
50% : Had she thought, I asked gently, what would happen if she could no longer live alone or manage her own finances, and if she needed social care?
48% : What would she have thought about the Government's bombshell announcement yesterday that national insurance is to be hiked to help pay for social care - raising the overall tax burden to the highest level seen in this country during peacetime?
48% : What would she have thought about the Government's bombshell announcement yesterday that national insurance is to be hiked to help pay for social care - raising the overall tax burden to the highest level seen in this country during peacetime?
47% : No area of civic life is more ripe for reform than social care, yet for decades, politicians have ducked the challenge, indulging in empty rhetoric about the need for change but avoiding tough decisions.
47% : No area of civic life is more ripe for reform than social care, yet for decades, politicians have ducked the challenge, indulging in empty rhetoric about the need for change but avoiding tough decisions
46% : For starters, many voters are confused about what national insurance actually is and perhaps vaguely think it is ring-fenced for pensions or the NHS.
45% : National insurance is almost entirely a tax on workers.
44% : And the NHS has a voracious appetite for funds, so the competition between health and social care will continue - and needs to be closely monitored.
43% : Some complain that through the hike in national insurance, the Government is imposing a heavy new burden on the working population in order to protect the inheritances of the wealthy.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.