Chris Leslie rules out raising National Insurance to pay for social care

The possibility of Labour pledging a specific tax to raise money for NHS spending resurfaced this weekend, with Ed Miliband apparently believing that the NHS is going to be a major issue in 2015. The supposed likely tax rise would be in National Insurance, and this has raised some debate on LabourList this summer, with MP Frank Field supporting the idea, while Andrew Harrop and Adebusuyi Adeyemi have both warned against it.

In a revealing interview with Progress magazine, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Chris Leslie seems to have put a lid on the idea – or, at least, that NI would be the tax that is raised:

The shadow chief secretary also rules out any increase in national insurance to pay for social care. ‘I think the public want to see every ounce of efficiency and waste borne out of the existing services that we have for the Department of Health and elsewhere before you’d even countenance increasing the tax take from a pretty hard-pressed public. We’re talking consistently about the cost-of-living pressures people are under … How could you really make that point and go into an election asking ordinary working people to stump up more in those circumstances?’

In the article, it is revealed that Leslie finds himself “jarring” with Shadow Cabinet colleagues who aren’t as committed to his zero-based spending review as he is. With the rumours of the “Health tax” supposedly originating with senior figures in the party, this new announcement may not help with any jarring…