Boris Johnson has again fuelled speculation that he could scrap the National Insurance rise planned for April by refusing to guarantee it will go ahead.
The prime minister is coming under intense pressure to ditch or delay the 2.5 per cent hike, split between employees and employers, with reports suggesting many Tory backbenchers are making it a condition of their support in the expected confidence vote on his leadership.
Pressure on chancellor Rishi Sunak to scrap the rise heightened after official figures this week showed a £13bn windfall from lower-than-expected borrowing. Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg are understood to be among those urging him to use the additional leeway to ease pressure on households facing a cost-of-living crisis.
Downing Street today insisted there was no plan to delay the health and social care levy, which is intended to raise £12bn a year to tackle the Covid backlog in NHS treatments as well bolster funding for the social care system over the long term.
But Mr Johnson declined eight times during a broadcast interview on Tuesday to commit to the hike going ahead in April.
And he dodged the issue again today during a visit to north Wales, when asked whether he could confirm that the tax rise will go ahead, stressing instead the need to raise money for the NHS.
“It is absolutely vital, I hope people understand, that we have to fund the COVID backlogs, we have to fix social care,” said the PM.
“Every penny will go to that end. I think people do understand. There hasn’t been a family in this country that hasn’t been affected by the Covid backlogs in one way or the other.
“We had to spend over £400bn keeping the British economy going during the lockdowns. We’ve got now to move forward, we’ve got to fix the Covid backlog, we’ve got to sort out social care. I think that’s the right thing to do.”
