Money for care reform: lower house approves massive tax hike

The UK Parliament approved the largest tax hike in years. The money is needed for health reform. Prime Minister Johnson is criticized for this – because he had promised the opposite in the election campaign.

In London, the House of Commons approved Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s controversial plans for healthcare reform in Great Britain that evening. The project received 319 votes in favor and 248 MPs voted against. Several members of the government faction abstained.

£ 180 more for low wage earners

National Insurance contributions, which are paid with the tax, are expected to rise by 1.25 percent. That means, according to the government, people with an annual income of £ 21,000 will pay around £ 180 more as of April.

Johnson wants to pump the equivalent of 14 billion euros per year into the NHS health system. The National Health Service is severely overloaded and underfunded. There is a lack of staff and poor pay. There are currently around five million people in Great Britain waiting for an operation – also a consequence of the corona pandemic.

Care contribution capped

With the reform, the own share of care costs is also to be capped in the future at 86,000 pounds (around 100,000 euros). So far, people in need of care have had to share an unlimited amount of the costs for their care. Caring for elderly, sick and disabled adults in the UK currently has to be largely borne by individuals who often have to use up their savings or sell their home to pay for care.

Johnson did not promise any tax hikes during the election campaign

However, the public debate leading up to the vote was heated. “The highest taxes since the war,” headlined the Daily Telegraph. Similarly, the “Times”: “Highest tax burden in 70 years”. And the tabloid “The Sun” calls the government’s plans “Bojo’s biggest gamble” – “his biggest game”.

To make matters worse, Johnson had promised in the 2019 election campaign that there would be no tax increases with the Tories. In addition, one of the central arguments of the Brexit supporters was that the money that London had paid the EU for years would massively strengthen the health sector. Better health care for free, so to speak.

Conservatives abstain

The project was therefore controversial among the ranks of the conservative Tories. Some MPs had indicated that they would vote against the tax hike. Of the comfortable majority of 361 members of parliament, only 319 voted in favor of the government’s plan.