The Other Time Bomb Britain Can’t Afford to Ignore
A solution to the crisis in social care has eluded both the Conservative and Labour parties. Now, maybe, a consensus is forming.
Someone to look after you.
Photographer: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images EuropeWhen a topic is both highly controversial and mind-numbingly complex, there’s a rule of politics that says it’s best avoided before an election if at all possible. A botched offering on social care was one of the things that derailed Theresa May’s 2017 U.K. election bid and cost the Conservatives their parliamentary majority. Her successor Boris Johnson was never going to repeat the error.
It’s no surprise that the Conservative Party manifesto is minimalist on the subject. Even so, if the Tories win outright on Dec. 12, Britain’s care crisis will require more than stop-gap measures and promises. The question of how it can be fixed, and at what price, has been almost as bedeviling as Brexit for the country. The difference is that for the first time, agreement is starting to emerge.