Boris Johnson will pay the price at the ballot box if he believes he can break his manifesto promises

BORIS Johnson is kidding himself if he believes he can casually break his manifesto promises and raise taxes without paying a heavy price at the ballot box.

The PM is buoyed by polls showing most people are apparently happy to fork out extra to fund social care — and content that the unprecedented disaster of Covid justifies binning election pledges.

It is fool’s gold, Boris. We don’t know all the details of the looming National Insurance tax rise.

We do know that if the proceeds are swallowed by the NHS, and prove NOT to be the lasting social care solution he has advertised, enraged voters will feel doubly betrayed.

And we highly doubt any improvement will be visible by the next election anyway. The NHS has dibs on the money initially and will fight tooth and nail to keep it before it begins being diverted to social care.

There are no easy solutions. Especially if you rule out meaningful cuts such as scrapping the £98billion HS2 project, a new railway in the video-call age.

But a NI hike pilfering from struggling young workers so wealthy OAPs needing care can keep their homes is clearly unfair. Even ­roping pension-age workers into the NI scheme would be better.

Anyone expecting alternatives from Labour need not hold their breath.

Besides sniping at the Government, they are keeping schtum until the next election. Why? Because they haven’t the foggiest what to do. All those years out of power, yet they are still too busy scrolling Twitter to produce policy.

This — clueless Keir Starmer’s bickering, braindead shambles — is the ­official Opposition.

No wonder Boris is so over-confident, gambling on a tax rise and defying his MPs and voters.

A wasterland

WE always believed it was down to Whitehall’s penpushers to set a national ­example by getting back to the office.

Judging by the roads and trains, the rest of Britain is setting THEM an example.

What justification do top civil servants still have for refusing to resume their commutes — with the vast majority ­double-jabbed and restrictions relaxed?

They are taking taxpayers for a ride.

Evil on loose

THE scandal of Colin Pitchfork’s release gets worse.

Not only is it extremely doubtful a double child sex killer can ever be safely released, even after 33 years’ jail. Now he’s been housed a stone’s throw from schools and nurseries.

“Keep your children safe,” warns one victim’s sister, grimly. And parents will.

But even if the Ministry of Justice considers Pitchfork no longer a threat, did officials ever consider families’ feelings before placing a monster in their midst?