Paying for the NHS: would you support a rise in National Insurance?
Four in five people would support a rise in taxes to fund the National Health Service, a poll by the Resolution Foundation suggests.
Today is the 70th birthday of the National Health Service, which started life on 5 July 1948.
It's become one of our greatest national institutions, but like many of its patients of a similar age, the joints are beginning to creak.
Whether the problem is ambulance waiting times or lack of beds, for many, the cause is underfunding. A decade of Government austerity has seen average annual spending on the NHS fall to a lower level than at any other time in its history.
That's according to thinktank the Resolution Foundation, which has put together a report on options to pay for the NHS.
Amongst these options is a rise in National Insurance Contributions and, incredibly, it seems a majority of respondents are in favour.
Interestingly, the 55-64 'baby boomer' demographic, much criticised for the country's current financial difficulties, are more in favour then 'Gen X' (35-44 and 45-54).
Older voters, who might remember or have been told about healthcare prior to the NHS, are alongside younger millennials in being the most willing to pay more tax.
That's despite taxes already making life for financially-stretched households even more miserable.
It broadly ties in with an opinion piece we ran yesterday on paying for the rising cost of care: at the time of publishing, a poll in that article showed two out of three readers supported a tax hike in some form to achieve this.
That piece was broadly looking specifically at care costs, but what do you think of an NI increase to fund the NHS a whole? Please take our poll and, if you would like, give us your views in the comments below.
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When the idiots in charge hand over £20 billion, the NHS will take on extra management staff to manage the distribution.... straight into pension pots and perks but not for the medical coalface workers?
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Governments don't know what the term 'ring-fenced' means. I agree with kippermanbike; there is a lot of waste in teh NHS and that needs to be addressed. Other than that, one dud doctor, and a missed appointment, I have no complaints about the NHS; long may it last. And stop using private contractors who consider paying dividends more important than giving the best service.
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A tax increase collects money. No politician's statements will convince me that the NHS will receive the increase. The Motor Fund tax, in the 1930s, was supposed to be only for roads maintenance and development. How much of the 2017/18 £38bn tax raised from the motorist is actually spent on roads? I am sure that creative book keeping will show that the extra tax is spent on the NHS. Politicians are good at that sort of deception. Then there is the wasteful spend on contracting, confidential service contracts and the like.
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10 July 2018