How and why Johnson abandons Cameron’s austerity
In the UK Johnson raises taxes and now the Tories are the party of the NHS. The turning point of the premier analyzed by Daniele Meloni
Two broken promises in one day. The highest level of taxes from the postwar period to today. The conservative press didn't go light on Boris Johnson. By now a well-established habit, however. But the announcement of National Insurance's 1.25 percentage point hike to fund health and welfare in England sparked commentators, Tory MPs and seniors from the party. As many as 3 former Chancellors of the Exchequer – John Major, Ken Clarke and Phillip Hammond – have come out against the measure that the government deems necessary to clear the waiting lists accumulated over the years of the pandemic, create more beds and give concrete support to those in need of social assistance. With the measure taken, the Tories guarantee all Brits with an income of less than £ 20,000 free treatment through the NHS.
The Municipalities wanted to focus on the “black swan” of Covid Johnson. "True, we promised not to raise taxes," said with surprising frankness the man whom the UK media has always branded a "Superbug". "But there was no global pandemic in any party program in 2019". The premier, who in the morning explained the reasons for his choice to the 1922 Committee – the meeting of the Tory parliamentary group – is counting on the fact that the British will understand the situation that has arisen with the pandemic crisis. It is also counting on the new climate in favor of state interventionism and the accumulation of public debt that snakes in London and beyond. Yet, the figures published by the government itself leave no doubt: an Englishman with an annual income of 20,000 pounds will pay over 100 pounds more than National Insurance every year, while one who earns 100,000 will pay over a thousand. It is good to say that national insurance is a burden on both individuals and businesses.
Then there is the question of Johnson's second burnt promise, that relating to the revaluation of pensions, which enjoyed a "triple guarantee", which will now temporarily lapse for the years 2022 and 2023. Chancellor Sunak and his staff at the Treasury they fear that the average increase in wages – which the triple lock links to pensions – could lead to an increase of up to 8% on retirement benefits, leading to inflation that is difficult to manage. Many over 60s, however, constitute – especially in the prosperous English south-east – the political and social basis on which the Tories built their triumph in 2019. The data relating to the electoral analysis of the Library of the House of Commons show how beyond the 60% of retirees voted for Johnson two years ago. Perhaps the premier wants to leverage the provisional nature of the provision, which should disappear in 2024, the year in which the next elections will be held.
Yesterday was defined as a crucial day in the legislature by almost all commentators. Beth Rigby, political editor of Sky News , spoke of Johnson's desire to rewrite British conservatism in a social key. Laura Kuenssberg of the BBC stressed that the game has now been reversed with Labor accusing the Tories of overspending and raising taxes, and with the latter pledging to invest in the National Health Service as never before. Precisely this seems to be the prime minister's aim: to make the Tories the party of the NHS, as intellectuals close to conservatives such as James Forsyth of the Spectator had suggested. A new Copernican revolution in British politics after Brexit, which will serve Johnson to give a brand to his course and leave behind the same Brexit with which he is still identified today.
The Tories have not thrown away all the foundations of Thatcherism, but have decided to communicate politically with emphasis their abandonment of the austerity policies implemented by David Cameron between 2010 and 2016. For the party, a pragmatic choice that takes into account of Brexit, of the new consensus obtained in the north-east by Johnson, and of the pandemic. In the battle of ideas, Labor statism prevails: only the Conservatives have so far taken advantage of it.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/come-e-perche-johnson-abbandona-lausterity-di-cameron/ on Wed, 08 Sep 2021 11:40:16 +0000.