Susanna Reid put education secretary Gillian Keegan on the spot over the Conservatives’ chronic underfunding of public services on Tuesday.
The Good Morning Britain presenter pointed out that the government’s plan to partially fund social care by increasing National Insurance contributions appears to have been undone – by the government’s own decision to cut it.
Reid began: “You have been in power since 2010.
“You’re speaking about it as if this is a problem that has suddenly dropped into your lap. Why are we in this situation where 14 years after you’ve been in government?”
“These are huge demographic changes that are impacting people in most Western countries. It’s a long-term problem and it’s difficult to solve,” Keegan said.
Reid cut in: “Boris Johnson stood on the steps of Downing Street in 2019 and said he was going to deliver!
“Why do we treat this as a political football, where the Conservatives say that Labour’s plan for care are a death tax, and Labour say the Conservative plans for care a dementia tax.”
The ITV presenter asked why it was not possible for political parties to stick to one tax in their manifestos.
“We did do that, we put in additional tax to specifically pay for some of the reforms in social care,” Keegan hit back.
Reid said: “The National Insurance rise?”
“Yes,” Keegan said.
“Your chancellor has just cut National Insurance,” the presenter noted, alluding to Jeremy Hunt’s decision to cut it from 12p to 8p in the pound since November.
Looking a little awkward, Keegan replied: “Yes of course we had that rise, we had that and then we had to deal with Covid and we had to deal with other things.”
Reid said: “So you’ve literally just cut away some of the extra support?”
Keegan just claimed that “parts of the model” are still ongoing.
However, chancellor Jeremy Hunt hinted earlier this month that National Insurance could be abolished entirely if the Conservatives are re-elected – although Treasury minister Gareth Davies recently admitted it “may be several parliaments” before that actually happens.