Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are using stealth and misdirection to dodge hard long-term policy challenges
Last September, Boris Johnson broke a manifesto pledge by announcing a 1.25 percentage point rise in national insurance contributions. On Wednesday, that extra deduction from pay packets took effect, albeit with an important adjustment. In last month’s spring statement, the chancellor raised the threshold at which national insurance is paid from £9,800 to £12,570 – cancelling the tax hike for around 70% of workers.
That gives the lie to Mr Johnson’s previous claim that the rise was a “health and social care levy” with just under £12bn in receipts strictly hypothecated for those causes.
