London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Dec 02, 2025

Who opposes Boris Johnson’s social care funding plans?

Who opposes Boris Johnson’s social care funding plans?

Potential rises in taxes or national insurance have sparked a significant backlash, including among Tory MPs

A significant rebellion is building up against plans to fund social care changes that are expected to be announced this week.

Despite cabinet ministers scrambling to finalise details of potential rises in taxes or national insurance contributions (NICs), reports of the latest version of the proposals have already sparked a significant backlash.

These are the groups coalescing against the idea:

Cabinet ministers


Members of Boris Johnson’s top team have not been coy about their opposition to breaking a significant manifesto promise. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Commons leader, wrote in his Sunday Express column about the downfall of George Bush Sr in the 1988 US presidential election after breaking his “read my lips” promise not to raise taxes, before his defeat to Bill Clinton. “Voters remembered these words after President Bush had forgotten them,” Rees-Mogg noted, in a veiled threat to collective responsibility.

Other cabinet members said to be concerned include the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, the trade secretary, Liz Truss, and the justice secretary, Robert Buckland.

Tory backbenchers


Robert Halfon, the chair of the education select committee, said he had “huge worries” about raising national insurance given the impact it could have on lower-paid people, and unless the increase only affected those on incomes above roughly £40,000, he would struggle to vote with the government.

Alex Stafford, a “red wall” MP who represents Rother Valley in South Yorkshire, also said taxes should not be raised “willy-nilly” without concrete plans for how the money would be used. He said: “My concern is if they just add an extra 1% on national insurance or whatever, but no actual fundamental way to make social care provision better, it’s a bit pointless … We can’t just raise it without a new way of providing social care.”

Mark Pritchard, a backbencher who represents the Wrekin in Shropshire, warned of the wider impact on the UK economy of raking in more taxpayer money, saying there should be “more ‘tax carrots’ than sticks”.

The Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh hit out at “the unimaginative response of going for tax rises”, while Dehenna Davison, the MP for Bishop Auckland, said the Conservatives “absolutely cannot go against this manifesto”.

Stephen Hammond, a former health minister, said there were better ways to fund spending increases in social care, and warned a NI rise could lead to a sense of intergenerational unfairness.

Three former Conservative chancellors – Philip Hammond, Ken Clarke and Norman Lamont – have also come out against the idea.

Labour


Keir Starmer has signalled Labour will not support the move. He told the Daily Mirror: “We do need more investment in the NHS and social care but national insurance, this way of doing it, simply hits low earners, it hits young people and it hits businesses. We don’t agree that is the appropriate way to do it. Do we accept that we need more investment? Yes we do. Do we accept that NI is the right way to do it? No we don’t.”

The shadow foreign secretary, Lisa Nandy, said over the weekend she was open to a wealth tax to pay for social care, after Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, proposed the idea.

The Federation of Small Businesses


Mike Cherry, the chairman of the business body, hit out at what he called a “regressive levy”, warning it was “yet another outgoing for small businesses and sole traders to worry about against a backdrop of spiralling input prices, supply chain disruption, a deepening late payment crisis, rent arrears, rates bills returning, skills shortages and emergency loan repayments”.

Dominic Cummings


The former top adviser to Johnson, who has been deeply critical of his old boss since leaving No 10 last winter, said the prime minister’s plan to break manifesto promises “is a big policy and political blunder, if you value the Conservative party winning the next few elections”.

He wrote in a blog post: “A core problem with modern parties is they are (rightly IMO [in my opinion]) seen as fundamentally dishonest, incompetent, and out of touch. A core reason is they constantly make clear promises then break them.”

Cummings added that raising taxes would be a big boost for Labour as it would destroy the Conservatives’ attack line at the next election that people voting for Starmer’s party would see their contributions rise. “If ‘they’re all the same’ applies to both parties on tax, this is very bad for the Conservative party. And if Labour are smart enough to vote against the PM’s plan, Starmer will be able to shove this down Tory throats even more powerfully.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Head of UK Budget Watchdog Resigns After Premature Leak of Reeves’ Budget Report
Car-sharing giant Zipcar to exit UK market by end of 2025
Reports of Widespread Drone Deployment Raise Privacy and Security Questions in the UK
UK Signals Security Concerns Over China While Pursuing Stronger Trade Links
Google warns of AI “irrationality” just as Gemini 3 launch rattles markets
Top Consultancies Freeze Starting Salaries as AI Threatens ‘Pyramid’ Model
Macron Says Washington Pressuring EU to Delay Enforcement of Digital-Regulation Probes Against Meta, TikTok and X
UK’s DragonFire Laser Downs High-Speed Drones as £316m Deal Speeds Naval Deployment
UK Chancellor Rejects Claims She Misled Public on Fiscal Outlook Ahead of Budget
Starmer Defends Autumn Budget as Finance Chief Faces Accusations of Misleading Public Finances
EU Firms Struggle with 3,000-Hour Paperwork Load — While Automakers Fear De Facto 2030 Petrol Car Ban
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
UK Budget’s New EV Mileage Tax Undercuts Case for Plug-In Hybrids
UK Government Launches National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs’ After US Warning and Rising Public Outcry
Taylor Swift Extends U.K. Chart Reign as ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ Hits Six Weeks at No. 1
250 Still Missing in the Massive Fire, 94 Killed. One Day After the Disaster: Survivor Rescued on the 16th Floor
Trump: National Guard Soldier Who Was Shot in Washington Has Died; Second Soldier Fighting for His Life
UK Chancellor Reeves Defends Tax Rises as Essential to Reduce Child Poverty and Stabilise Public Finances
No Evidence Found for Claim That UK Schools Are Shifting to Teaching American English
European Powers Urge Israel to Halt West Bank Settler Violence Amid Surge in Attacks
"I Would Have Given Her a Kidney": She Lent Bezos’s Ex-Wife $1,000 — and Received Millions in Return
European States Approve First-ever Military-Grade Surveillance Network via ESA
UK to Slash Key Pension Tax Perk, Targeting High Earners Under New Budget
UK Government Announces £150 Annual Cut to Household Energy Bills Through Levy Reforms
UK Court Hears Challenge to Ban on Palestine Action as Critics Decry Heavy-Handed Measures
Investors Rush Into UK Gilts and Sterling After Budget Eases Fiscal Concerns
UK to Raise Online Betting Taxes by £1.1 Billion Under New Budget — Firms Warn of Fallout
Lamine Yamal? The ‘Heir to Messi’ Lost to Barcelona — and the Kingdom Is in a Frenzy
Warner Music Group Drops Suit Against Suno, Launches Licensed AI-Music Deal
HP to Cut up to 6,000 Jobs Globally as It Ramps Up AI Integration
MediaWorld Sold iPad Air for €15 — Then Asked Customers to Return Them or Pay More
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Promises ‘Full-Time’ Education for All Children as School Attendance Slips
UK Extends Sugar Tax to Sweetened Milkshakes and Lattes in 2028 Health Push
UK Government Backs £49 Billion Plan for Heathrow Third Runway and Expansion
UK Gambling Firms Report £1bn Surge in Annual Profits as Pressure Mounts for Higher Betting Taxes
UK Shares Advance Ahead of Budget as Financials and Consumer Staples Lead Gains
Domino’s UK CEO Andrew Rennie Steps Down Amid Strategic Reset
UK Economy Stalls as Reeves Faces First Budget Test
UK Economy’s Weak Start Adds Pressure on Prime Minister Starmer
UK Government Acknowledges Billionaire Exodus Amid Tax Rise Concerns
UK Budget 2025: Markets Brace as Chancellor Faces Fiscal Tightrope
UK Unveils Strategic Plan to Secure Critical Mineral Supply Chains
UK Taskforce Calls for Radical Reset of Nuclear Regulation to Cut Costs and Accelerate Build
UK Government Launches Consultation on Major Overhaul of Settlement Rules
Google Struggles to Meet AI Demand as Infrastructure, Energy and Supply-Chain Gaps Deepen
Car Parts Leader Warns Europe Faces Heavy Job Losses in ‘Darwinian’ Auto Shake-Out
Arsenal Move Six Points Clear After Eze’s Historic Hat-Trick in Derby Rout
Wealthy New Yorkers Weigh Second Homes as the ‘Mamdani Effect’ Ripples Through Luxury Markets
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
UK Unveils Critical-Minerals Strategy to Break China Supply-Chain Grip
×