You can almost admire Boris Johnson’s cunning over the national insurance increase

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Boris Johnson in the Commons making a statement about tax reform to pay for the NHS and the social care crisis (Parliamentlive.tv)

It’s not a great surprise to learn that Boris Johnson has come up with a plan that will persuade the electorate that he’s increasing funding for the NHS while also appeasing the backbench Tories who are concerned about breaking manifesto pledges, and at the same time not taking too much from his wealthy supporters. You could almost admire his cunning.

He’s gone so far as to have older employed people starting to pay the increased rate of national insurance. But it seems that he doesn’t grasp the point that in choosing which people should be protected from payment increases, it’s not age or employment status that matter but poverty.

Or perhaps he does understand that but doesn’t care.