Labour will set out the details of its offer to pensioners with a new pledge card on Tuesday, aiming to highlight the lack of solutions presented in the Tory manifesto launched over the weekend.
Although Boris Johnson claimed to have a plan for fixing the social care crisis when he first entered Downing Street, his policy document released on Sunday only talks of the need to develop a cross-party solution.
Under the Tories, nearly £8bn has been cut from social care budgets, which are separate from the NHS and managed on a local basis. 1.5 million older people have been left without the care that they need, according to Age UK.
Jeremy Corbyn’s party has proposed the creation of a National Care Service – as well as free personal care for over-65s, extra care packages and a lifetime cap on personal contributions to care costs.
- Introduce free personal care and invest £10.8bn in social care provision.
- Keep the free bus pass for older people.
- Restore 3,000 bus routes that have been cut under the Tories and give councils the powers to regulate services again.
- Stop the Tories taking free TV licences from over-75s.
- Compensate the nearly four million women that lost out unfairly when the change in the state pension age was changed without fair notice.
- Invest in Warm Homes for All with insulation for every home.
- End the injustice of the state skimming 50% off the mineworkers’ pensions schemes.
Announcing the new election campaign feature, John McDonnell said: “Labour’s new pledge card sets out our offer to restore dignity and proper support for older people after being abandoned by the Conservatives.”
Touching also on Labour’s offer to WASPI women, the Shadow Chancellor added: “Older people have had their pensions threatened under the Tories and nearly four million women born in the 1950s had their pensions robbed.
“The scandalous state of the care system is perhaps the biggest crisis facing our country. Labour will build a new National Care Service with free care for those who need it at the heart.”
Labour has vowed to invest £10.8bn in social care provision over the next five years, while the Conservative manifesto promises to put £1bn into social care in every year of this parliament.
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