The Labour government has been criticised over Andy Burnham's proposals to address the social care crisis, which could lead to tax increases. During a discussion on Sunday (27 September), host Cristo Foufas and broadcaster and comedian Paul Cox launched a scathing attack on the plans.
Foufas began by questioning the fairness of the proposals: "Just this idea that I'm going to work hard, I'm going to do everything right. I might buy a property, or I might try to pay off a mortgage. I might leave something to my children, or I might try to have a few savings… Doing the right thing and you're penalised."
He continued: "[However] you do nothing, you sit and don't work, don't buy a property, don't have any ambition whatsoever, and you get it all anyway. Why are the people who do the right thing penalised?"
Cox's response to Burnham's plans
Cox replied: "Because every few electoral cycles or so, we end up with a Labour Government that does just that." He added: "Labour have decided there is a universal amount of money any individual should have, and anything else is up for grabs!"
He elaborated: "By which I mean, by doing the right things: going to work, buying a property, being fortunate enough to live into your autumn years, perhaps you can enjoy some of that, and pass that on. Then, that becomes excess beyond what Labour believe you're entitled to, and it is about entitlement because Labour will say, 'Well, we can take that, and we can take that, and we're gonna take this, and take this', and they look at where all the excess is across people's lives."
Taxation and ideology
Cox continued: "Whether it's in their jobs, their earnings on shares, or earnings on savings, or savings themselves, or property, everything is taxed to the nth degree, because socialism and communism are built without the individual in mind. It's about sharing that. You can not have one or two people doing well because what about the others?"
Foufas agreed, declaring: "And that is why it becomes a race to the bottom."
Burnham's proposals
The discussion took place hours after Burnham laid out his proposals for an NHS-style care service funded by everyone. In an interview with BBC journalist Laura Kuenssberg aired on Sunday, the Prime Minister said he would put forward a plan in the next general election "with a precise explanation of how it's going to be funded, and the people will be in no doubt about it at all."
Asked if his social reforms would require more tax, Burnham replied that like with the NHS, "It would be a system of that kind where everyone contributes, everyone's covered. But not precisely and necessarily in the same way that we currently pay for the NHS."
