London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jun 07, 2026

Tax on landlords could pay for social care, says Keir Starmer

Tax on landlords could pay for social care, says Keir Starmer

Money to pay for social care could have been raised through taxing landlords, Sir Keir Starmer is expected to tell a conference.

It comes after Boris Johnson announced plans to raise National Insurance tax on workers and employers in order to pay for the NHS backlog and social care

Sir Keir will describe the rise as "unfair" and "poorly thought through".

But the Labour leader has come under pressure in recent days to detail his own plan to fund social care.

Addressing the House of Commons earlier this week, Mr Johnson acknowledged his tax rise broke a manifesto commitment not to raise taxes, but defended the move as "the right, reasonable and fair approach" in light of the pandemic.

He criticised calls for a rise in capital gains tax - the levy you pay on the profits when you sell an asset - arguing that it would not raise enough money to "even begin to deal with this problem".
Speaking to the Local Government Association which represents councils in England and Wales, Sir Keir will attack the Conservatives' plans, arguing that: "Working people will pay more tax now, but might still have to sell their home to pay even more later."

"This is an unfair plan that doesn't work. And who is left with the bill? It's working people. It's especially low earners and young people who have already borne the brunt of the economic impact of the pandemic," he will say.

Instead he will argue that "the money could have been raised by taxing the incomes of landlords, and those who buy and sell large quantities of financial assets, stocks shares".

Mr Johnson's plans, he will say, leave "a private landlord renting out multiple properties not paying a penny more in tax, and their hard-working tenants to pick up the burden".

He will add it sees "an Amazon worker's taxes raised, but Amazon itself able to squirrel profits away in tax havens and only pay a fraction of what high street shops do".

Earlier this week, Sir Keir told Sky News he would back "wealth taxes" to fund social care but did not set out further details.

Giving shape to a future Labour policy, Sir Keir is also expected to say that his party would introduce a principle of "home first" care, shift the focus to prevention and early intervention, and introduce a "new deal" for care workers.

Under Mr Johnson's proposals there will be a 1.25 percentage point rise in National Insurance from next April for workers and employers.

It means that someone earning £30,000 will pay an extra £255 a year, while someone on a £50,000 salary will pay £505.


Income from share dividends - earned by those who own shares in companies - will also see a 1.25% tax rate increase.

In 2023, National Insurance will return to its previous level and the tax increase will become a separate health and social care levy on earnings.

The majority of the £36bn fund raised by the rise will go towards tackling the backlog of NHS cases created by the pandemic.

A smaller portion of the money - £5.4bn over the next three years - will also go towards changes to the social care system, with more promised after that.

In his speech, Sir Keir will warn that the government plans will not provide any money for councils in the short term and will force them to put up council tax in order to meet demand.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
European Union and China Head Toward Major Trade Conflict Over Clean Technology Exports
United States Economic Growth Severely Downgraded to One Point Six Percent as Stagflation Fears Mount
World Health Organization Warns Central African Ebola Epidemic is Outpacing Containment Efforts
United States Treasury Department Conditions Sanctions Relief on Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Air Defenses Intercept and Destroy United States Military Drone Over Bushehr Province
Iranian Armed Forces Launch Ballistic Missiles Toward Unspecified Targets Prompting Regional Condemnation
United Nations Secretary-General Warns Global Order Facing Highest Level of Conflict Since 1945
Israel Issues Sweeping Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon Amid Intensified Hezbollah Conflict
Russia Announces Systemic Military Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Defense and Energy Infrastructure
United States and Iranian Negotiators Reach Draft Agreement to Extend Ceasefire and Resume Nuclear Talks
United Nations Security Council Deeply Divided Over United States Capture of Venezuelan President
US and Iran Exchange Direct Military Strikes Amid Fragile Gulf Ceasefire
World Health Organization Warns of Catastrophic Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo
Russia Threatens New Wave of Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Embassies
Scientists Warn Atlantic Ocean Currents Could Collapse Faster Than Projected
Anthropic Reaches $900 Billion Valuation in Historic AI Funding Round
Washington Imposes Crippling Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Authority
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
×