That's it really.
What are you looking here for? I've told you what I think.
Just kidding; but it's true. If Theresa didn't have such a lead, if Mr Corbyn and Labour weren't so inept, she would not feel able to make such stupid, anti-Tory manifesto pledges. It's a simple as that.
This 'using your home to pay for your care until you die' is just so stupid and anti Tory.
And the response from Labour, that rich people should continue to get the Winter Fuel Allowance and that rich people should not have to pay, with their homes, for social services care in old age, just turns everything on its head in terms of party principles.
Who knows where we are now? Are Labour the party of the wealthy? Why are the Tories attacking the rich in this way?
Frankly this is as stupid as the bedroom tax. But at least that had the virtue of being correct in principle but not in terms of it ever being fair in terms of application.
Allow me, briefly, to explain what I mean. (You've got this far, not much more to go).
Alan and Jane at number 26 have worked all their lives. They strove and saved and didn't go on holiday all that often if they couldn't afford it; didn't drink or smoke, brought up their kids and incidentally, fed them breakfast and lunch at school as well as dinner in the evenings. (That's 'Tea' to you in the North).
They did the right thing and paid off their mortgage. But they're now getting on a bit and the route to the hospital, sadly, is one they now know quite well. But at least they have their home to pass on to the kids to give them a financial boost when Alan and Jane shuffle off. It's a thing that is never talked about, but it is also something that has motivated the couple all their working lives. After all, their parents, growing up after the war years, were not ever in a position to do the same thing for them.
But they've paid into the system. They're coming up to retirement and hopefully they can enjoy the fruits of their labour for some time to come. They live in the south, so their home is worth £300,000 now, although they originally bought it for £25,000. They are not particularly wealthy in cash terms but the house is worth a bit. They receive the Winter Fuel Allowance and a free bus pass.
Alan is a school governor and umpires the cricket in the village of a Sunday. Jane is on the PCT and has coffee mornings to raise money for the Brownies.
And now Theresa (May) wants the house - or at least 2/3rds of it to pay for their care should they need it in old age. And the NHS has the brief to keep people alive for as long as possible - an aim we probably all share, but, not necessarily when we are so ill that there's no real quality of life and it's just 'existing' in a care home, rather than truly 'being alive'. The £100,000 they will be left with after their care is paid for, might just pay off (kids) David and Anne's student loans, but not much more.
Their Winter Fuel Allowance which is a nice bonus and makes the family Christmas easier to pay for, will be taken away because they have a few quid, having saved all their lives. They vote Tory. Always have.
Across the street are Bruce and Barbara. Same house but they don't own it. They had a different philosophy. They took holidays they couldn't afford, smoked and drank and have no savings. They paid into the system sometimes but mostly were recipients of benefits. On account of Bruce being unlucky, on account of him being a lazy bastard. They vote Labour. Always have.
I have nothing against lazy bastards, I myself have been known to be a lazy bastard, but bear with me.
Bruce goes to the pub and watches the cricket sometimes. Barbara goes to the Bingo. Their kids Kylie and Jason are minor drug dealers and still live at home. Both are on benefits and both smoke and drink.
Jason's Corsa is currently rotting away on the front lawn. Next to Bruce's old Capri and Kylie's daughter Jasmine's old pram.
Bruce and Barbara will not have to pay anything at all for their care in old age. They will continue to receive the Winter Fuel Allowance and free bus pass. They will pass on fuck all to their kids, but what on earth would be the point anyway?
Now I know that what Theresa is pledging means that what people can hand on to their kids out of the value of their home, is actually going up from £23k to £100k under this policy. But that still does not make it a Tory policy.
Yes this may have been going on for years, discretely, in the background, under the radar, but now putting it front and centre of your manifesto has exposed what an awful solution it is:- to have individual families suffering financially if they are unlucky enough to have a member who needs long-term care. When this is a national problem - just like the rest of the Healthcare system and should, therefore, be solved (paid for) on a national - not individual - basis. That would be the Tory way. Using it as an effective inheritance tax is simply not a fair way of solving the problem.
It is an unfair sticking plaster rather than an actual sustainable solution. Theresa is correct to look at the issue - it's about time someone did look at our changing demographics and our failing social care system - 'failing' because of the massively increasing pressures upon it - but this solution is grossly unfair in my opinion and should be reconsidered.
This current Tory manifesto is not a Tory manifesto. It's a manifesto, designed to wipe out the Labour party by stealing its policies and position on the board. But if, in doing this, you lose your core vote Theresa, you'll have been an utter fool.
Thanks for reading.
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