The social care tax hike and the triple lock bust

If you’re going to break one manifesto promise, then why not break two?

Why not distract from telling pensioners they can’t have their potential 8.8 per cent triple lock state pension rise by hiking taxes for everyone.

That appeared to be the theory this week, as two pledges to not raise taxes and keep the triple lock went out the window.

Boris Johnson has been bold enough to be the Prime Minister who finally tries to fix Britain’s social care problems, with a 1.25 per cent national insurance rise and then new tax to pay for this and getting the NHS to play catch-up after the pandemic.

Coupled with a corresponding 1.25 per cent NI rise for employers, this amounts to a 2.5% hit to people’s pay.

Will that be enough to sort the problem, does the cash risk just being swallowed up by the NHS, and are our social care problems just about funding?

Along with those questions, why was the triple lock turned double for a year, was this a close shave for its existence and could there have been a better way of dealing with wildly skewed wage growth figures?

On this week’s podcast, Tanya Jefferies, Georgie Frost and Simon Lambert tackled those questions and more on the triple lock and social care.

Plus, Tanya explains how she uncovered major delays for people who are starting to get their state pension and what the Government plans to do about it.

Also on this week’s show, what to do when a share you hold takes a tumble – and how to when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em.

And finally, why the AA says people’s range anxiety over electric cars is massively overcooked. Clue that’s not why most break down.