He has chosen his path – Boris Johnson redrawing lines of what it means to be a Conservative
The significance of Boris Johnson’s announcement goes well beyond social care.
It sets the tone and the terms for the next general election and signals what type of prime minister he wants to be.
The wager is clear, he believes voters will grudgingly forgive him for breaking not one, but two manifesto commitments if it means a huge increase in spending on the NHS and social care.
By going back on his 2019 guarantee against lifting National Insurance, income tax or VAT, and temporarily scrapping the triple lock for pensions, he is counting on their understanding.
Back then, of course, the prime minister explicitly promised to fix social care without tax rises – so make no mistake, this is a big political gamble.
The surprise announcement of an increase in dividend tax alongside the National Insurance rise was a clear attempt to try to broaden the tax base while at the same time neutering one of the criticisms of this policy – that it is unfair because working people would foot the bill.
But, despite that effort to see off criticism, questions remain. What about wealth taxes? What about wealthy pensioners?
They get the benefit, but they don’t actually pay into the levy – so there is controversy there.
Most significant though is what this all says about the changing face of the Conservative Party under Boris Johnson.
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PM ‘accepts’ breaking manifesto commitment
In his statement, the prime minister claimed: “We are the party of the NHS.”
That has always been the strapline for the Labour Party, the issue on which Labour has always won with voters.
The Conservatives’ strapline, by contrast, has always been the claim to be the party of low taxation that is most trusted on the economy. Well, not under Boris Johnson.
The 2019 Conservative manifesto included a personal ‘guarantee’ from Boris Johnson that there wouldn’t be tax rises
He is redrawing the lines – some could argue he’s stealing the clothes from Labour – and wants to go into the next general election as a prime minister who is prepared to break promises and raise taxes to fund public services.
The calculation, I think, is that there is a new appetite for public spending.
The risk for Johnson is that there are many low-tax, small-state Conservatives out there who will be deeply uncomfortable with the shape of the party under his leadership, but those are the terms in which he has decided to lead his government – he has chosen his path.
Politics
University tuition fee rise branded ‘morally wrong’ – as Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson defends increase
The education secretary has said no decision has been made on whether university tuition fees will increase with inflation each year.
Bridget Phillipson has announced the maximum cap on tuition fees in England will go up in line with inflation from April 2025.
The cost of tuition will increase by £285 to £9,535 next year – the first rise in eight years.
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There will also be a rise in maximum maintenance loans to increase in line with inflation, giving an increase of £414 a year to help students with living costs.
However, the education secretary did not say if the rise would continue after that.
Speaking to Sky News’ Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge, Ms Phillipson admitted she did not know what would happen with tuition fees after April 2026.
“We’re going to look at this and the maintenance support and the sector overall as part of the reform that we intend to set out in the months to come,” she said.
“So no decision, no decision has been taken on what happens beyond this.”
She said the government will be looking at “what is required… to get our universities on a more sustainable footing… but also to deliver a better deal for students as a part of that”.
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University tuition fees to increase
The minister said she also “intends to look at” uprating the threshold at which students need to start paying tuition fees back in line with inflation.
Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), said the tuition fee rise was “economically and morally wrong”.
She said: “Taking more money from debt-ridden students and handing it to overpaid underperforming vice-chancellors is ill conceived and won’t come close to addressing the sector’s core issues.”
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The National Union of Students (NUS) said students were being asked to “foot the bill” to keep the lights and heating on in their universities and to prevent their courses from closing down amid the “crisis”.
Alex Stanley, vice president for higher education of the NUS, said: “This is, and can only ever be, a sticking plaster.
“Universities cannot continue to be funded by an ever-increasing burden of debt on students.”
Universities have been making up for fees being frozen since 2017/18 by taking in international students who pay more.
However, student visa numbers have fallen after the previous government made it more difficult for them to come to the UK recently, so universities can no longer rely on the fees.
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Dame Priti Patel has made a comeback as Kemi Badenoch has appointed her shadow foreign secretary, Sky News understands.
Ms Badenoch, who became Conservative leader on Saturday, started officially appointing her shadow cabinet on Sunday evening.
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On Monday afternoon, the two biggest jobs were confirmed, with former home secretary Ms Patel being given the shadow foreign secretary role.
Former shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride, who ran in the Tory leadership race and is considered more of a moderate than Ms Badenoch, has been made shadow chancellor.
Robert Jenrick, who lost out to Ms Badenoch, is the new shadow justice secretary, sources told Sky News.
Earlier in the day, Laura Trott, who served as chief secretary to the Treasury under Rishi Sunak, was appointed shadow education secretary.
The new Tory leader made her first appointments on Sunday evening ahead of her new top team meeting for the first time on Tuesday.
Mel Stride was work and pensions secretary and stood to be Tory leader
Now the Conservatives are in opposition, the shadow cabinet’s role is to scrutinise the policies and actions of the government and to offer alternative policies.
Nigel Huddleston and Dominic Johnson, junior ministers under Mr Sunak, were appointed joint chairmen of the Conservative Party.
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The role involves overseeing the party’s headquarters, where staff and committee members have their offices.
Essex MP Dame Rebecca Harris was confirmed as chief whip after the interim chief whip Stuart Andrew said she was replacing him.
She will be responsible for ensuring Tory MPs attend and vote in parliament as the party leadership desires.
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University tuition fees to increase in England for first time in eight years
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Badenoch: ‘We let standards slip’
Former foreign secretary James Cleverly, who came third in the leadership race, said on Friday he would not be joining Ms Badenoch’s top team.
Ex-prime minister Mr Sunak, his former deputy Sir Oliver Dowden, ex-chancellor Jeremy Hunt and former Brexit, health, and environment secretary Steve Barclay have all said they will be joining him on the backbenches.
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