In the context of an election that was called by Theresa May to deliver an endorsement for her Brexit strategy, social care was certainly not the issue that was expected to dominate headlines. And yet it has done so. It has also triggered a significant backlash in the polls against the Tory manifesto resulting in one of the most significant manifesto U-turns in living memory. Labour’s focus on social care, on the other hand, has helped its ratings enormously.
Social care is the one issue that marks the massive differences between May’s Conservative party and all the other main opposition parties. In these infographics below we present what each party’s manifesto says on the topic of social care and a short analysis provided by Care Commission student research assistant Arzu Naghiyeva.
Will this issue influence who you vote for?
Further analysis of the election campaign, and party manifestos and their commitments to adult social care can be found at the following links:
Melanie Henwood ‘What do the party manifestos say about social care’ The Guardian 24th May
https://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2017/may/24/election-manifestos-social-care
Ermintrude blog
https://medium.com/@ermintrude2
Kings Fund Health and Social Care Tracker
https://election.kingsfund.org.uk/
Gordon Rayner, ‘Theresa May under pressure to say who will pay for social care after U-turn on ‘dementia tax’’ The Telegraph 22 May
Juanita Elias ‘Social Care and the Tory Manifesto’ PSA Commission on Care blog
http://www.commissiononcare.org/2017/05/18/social-care-and-the-tory-manifesto/
Women’s Budget Group ‘What are the most important issues for women in the General Election 2017’
Fawcett Society ‘Women and the General Election 2017’
https://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/policy-research/women-general-election-vote/
Rosie Harding ‘How the parties differ on their plans to fix Britain’s Social Care Crisis’ The Conversation 2nd Junehttps://theconversation.com/how-the-parties-differ-on-their-plans-to-fix-britains-social-care-crisis-78647