Tories vote in changes that make social care free for the rich – while the poor lose everything
“I’m going to apply the pincers and drag every last penny out of the poor”: Boris Johnson explains how he’ll make sure rich people don’t have to pay a penny towards their social care, so they can pass their millionaire mansions to their kids.
You would never know what has happened, from the way the BBC reported it.
Boris Johnson’s Tory government has gone ahead and approved a plan to make the poorest people in the UK pay for the social care of the richest.
It means rich people will be able to pass their huge mansions to their children while poor people will have to sell their houses to pay for their social care.
Here’s how it works: from October 2023, nobody will pay more than £86,000 for care costs (excluding accommodation) in their lifetime.
Once people have paid this amount – a pittance for the extremely rich – their ongoing costs will be paid by local authorities. Those with between £20,000 and £100,000 in assets will get means-tested help from their council; those will less than £20,000 won’t have to pay from their assets but might have to contribute from their income – an additional burden for low-earners.
It means people are still likely to have to sell their houses to pay for care – unless they are rich.
Meanwhile an increase in National Insurance contributions to pay for social care will be dragged exclusively from the poor. Richer people won’t have to pay a penny more.
A wealthy pensioner with a million pound house will have 90% of assets protected.
My mother, with a little terrace worth about £80,000, will lose just about everything.
We need a National NHS Care Service, free at the point of use, funded by a wealth tax.
— Alan Gibbons (@mygibbo) November 22, 2021
How did the BBC report this?
MPs have backed a change to the way the government’s cap on lifetime social care costs for people in England will work.
They supported excluding council support payments from the new £86,000 cap by 272 votes to 246.
Labour and other opposition parties argued this would unfairly hit the poor, while some Conservatives raised doubts about the proposal.
But the PM insisted the new system would still be “incredibly generous”.
It’s not a total lie – the new system will be “incredibly generous” – to people who are incredibly rich.
Everybody else loses out. But the BBC didn’t mention that.
Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Here are four ways to be sure you’re among the first to know what’s going on.
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (in the left margin). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
The Livingstone Presumption is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
