Labour is preparing to omit plans for large-scale reform of social care from its next election manifesto, scale back its plans for House of Lords reform during a first term in office, and recalibrate the way it presents its £28bn-a-year green prosperity plan as it prepares to put a “bombproof” offer to voters before polling day.
After a successful conference in Liverpool last week, which resulted in the party extending its poll lead over the Tories, shadow cabinet ministers are now turning their minds to the precise shape of a manifesto for an election next May or October. Senior figures said the focus would be on producing an offering that was “affordable” in a difficult financial climate, as well as being “credible” and “deliverable”.
The Observer understands that Starmer’s party will avoid laying out a detailed plan for reform of social care, and the politically nightmarish issue of how to fund it, because it fears any proposals would be torpedoed by the Tories in the heat of a campaign.
According to senior party figures, Keir Starmer’s team – while committed to social care reform – do not want to offer the Tories a target that would invite them to attack the plans and make claims about the tax implications. Instead, there would be a general commitment to make changes when in office.
In 2010, Labour’s plans for funding social care were branded a “death tax” by the Tories, and hit the party’s vote badly, while in 2017 Theresa May’s Conservative campaign suffered irreparable damage amid accusations she was planning a “dementia tax”.
“We need to give ourselves cover to do reform in the manifesto, without giving the Tories a target to attack us. We can’t allow the issue to dominate a campaign again,” said a party source.
In his speech to the Labour conference, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said there was “no solution to the crisis in the NHS that doesn’t include a plan for social care”, but merely repeated promises to create a National Care Service that would guarantee better pay and conditions for carers, and aim to address recruitment and retention problems.
Inevitably, experts and organisations that have been pushing for social care reform for decades – and which have been dismayed by endless delays by successive governments – are disappointed that Labour is not coming forward with more detailed ideas.
Sally Warren, director of policy at the King’s Fund health policy thinktank, said: “We need to see much more detail about what both parties will do to ensure the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on social care get the care and support they need.
“The Conservatives had previously committed to introducing a new cap on care costs and making the means tests more generous, but having already delayed implementation once until after the election, they need to confirm that they intend to see their policy fully funded and delivered and won’t continue to kick the can down the road.
<img alt="A general view of a packed House of Lords, with the benches packed with figures wearing ermine" src="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ed3ced2c9981927347dacfa91b228e9894b016a4/14_0_5224_3134/master/5224.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none" width="445" height="266.9659264931087" loading="lazy"…
2023-10-15 00:00:03
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