Sunak recommits to April National Insurance rise amid cabinet jitters
Rishi Sunak has today recommitted to April’s National Insurance rise, after it was reported that he faced cabinet backlash over the measure this week.
Sunak said today the tax rise is needed to deal with “an unprecedented level of backlogs within the NHS”, after it was reported that House of Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg called for the hike to be ditched in this week’s cabinet meeting.
The 1.25 per cent rise to National Insurance Contributions for employees and employers will cost each household an average of £600 this year, according to the Resolution Foundation think tank.
It comes as households are also getting squeezed by a cost of living crisis fuelled by soaring inflation, which is underpinned by rising energy prices.
Sunak today said he would not back down from the tax rise, which will raise £12bn a year for the NHS and social care.
“We are facing an unprecedented level of backlogs within the NHS,” he said.
“We thought as a government that it was unacceptable. We wanted to invest to make sure there are more doctors, more nurses, more elective capacity in the NHS to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Boris Johnson’s official spokesman today said: “The cabinet collectively agree with that approach and recognise the priority of the public in ensuring our NHS has the funding it needs to tackle the backlog, which has been exacerbated by Covid.”
Sunak is also under pressure to ease the cost of energy bills on families as prices are set to soar again in April.
The energy price cap is predicted to increase from £1,277 to around £2,000 in April due to soaring global energy prices.
Labour and Tory backbenchers are calling for VAT to be cut on energy bills, while energy suppliers are calling for billions of loans or grants to help keep costs down for consumers.
Speaking today, the chancellor said: “Of course I understand people’s anxiety and concern about energy bills in particular – that’s why we’ve put in place a series of ways to help people with energy bills.
“We’ve got something called the warm homes discount, which discounts energy bills by £140, we’ve got something called the warm homes for pensioners, we have got the cold weather payments as well, winter fuel discounts, hundreds of pounds worth of help.
“So there is support there for people but of course we’re always listening, making sure the policy we’ve got will support people in the way we want it to, and that’s what our track record over the last year or two shows.”