Boris Johnson has confirmed a tax rise for millions of people to fund reforms to social care, tearing up a pledge he made in his 2019 manifesto.

The PM announced a new 1.25% Health and Social Care levy based on National Insurance (NI) contributions.

He has pressed ahead with the plans despite widespread backlash from senior party members.

The Conservatives promised in their General Election manifesto two years ago that taxes would not increase.

The prime minister accepted he was breaking a Tory commitment to voters, telling MPs ‘that is something I don’t take lightly’.

But he said: ‘A global pandemic was in no one’s manifesto.. the people of this country understand that in their bones.’

The levy, coming into force in April next year, means someone earning an annual salary of £20,000 will pay around £150 extra in tax, while people on £30,000 will pay around £255 more.

Meanwhile higher earners on £50,000 will see their NI contributions go up by about £500 a year.

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Mr Johnson said the revenue would pay for the biggest catch-up programme in the history of the NHS in England, with £12 billion a year to help deal with the backlog of cases built up during the pandemic.

It will also cover the reform of the social care system in England, ending what Downing Street described as ‘unpredictable and catastrophic’ care costs faced by many families.

Under current arrangements, anyone with assets over £23,350 pays for their care in full.

No 10 said one in seven people now pays more than £100,000 for their care, adding that the system can lead to ‘spiralling costs and the complete liquidation of someone’s assets’.

The PM also announced a cap on payments for social care, saying that from October 2023, no one starting care in England will be forced to spend more than £86,000 over their lifetime.

The prime minister said the cost of the Covid meant it would be irresponsible to fund these reforms by borrowing or other means.

He said: ‘We must now help the NHS to recover to be able to provide this much-needed care to our constituents and the people we love. We must provide the funding to do so now.

‘We not only have to pay for the operations and treatments that people decided not to have during the pandemic, we need to pay good wages for the 50,000 nurses who have enabled that treatment and who can help us tackle waiting lists that could otherwise expand to 13 million over the next few years.’

However, critics say the plan won’t reform the social care system and will hit young people the hardest.

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