Labour reveals plan to make NHS car parking free… by DOUBLING tax on health insurance
Jeremy Corbyn announced he would end hospital parking charges for patients, visitors and NHS staff if elected - by upping tax on private medical care to 20 per cent
Jeremy Corbyn yesterday vowed to almost double the tax on private healthcare held by seven million Brits – so he can scrap NHS parking fees.
The Labour leader said he would end hospital parking charges for patients, visitors and NHS staff if elected – delighting pressure groups.
But he sparked a furious reaction from insurers by pledging to fund the move by upping Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) on private healthcare from 12 per cent to 20 per cent.
It could push up policy premiums by as much as £150 a year.
The Labour leader said he was standing up “for the many, not the few”.
He insisted that 80 per cent of private medical insurance policies are bought by companies for their “wealthier, high skilled employees”.
But the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said the tax grab would affect millions of people “from all walks of life”.
The lobby group added the move would only increase waiting times at NHS hospitals as people are forced to dump private cover.
Labour risked further anger last night by confirming health plans offered by trade union donors Unite and Unison to their members would be EXEMPT from the higher tax charges.
The grab came just 24 hours after Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell ruled out any increases in “stealth taxes” - and said no one earning under £80,000 would face higher taxes under Labour.
There are around 4 million private medical policies in force in the UK – covering 6.9 million people or 10.6 per cent of the UK population.
Of the 5.4 million covered by company plans, 1.5 million are in ‘healthcare trusts’ which escape IPT. Average annual premiums range from £1,023 to £1,909.
Alex Perry, chief exec of BUPA Insurance said the tax raid made “no sense”.
He said: “It will mean more and more people give up their cover, increasing the pressure on an already burdened NHS.
This is making the funding situation for the NHS even more difficult.”
The ABI urged Labour to instead pledge to reverse Tory plans to force them to cough up an extra £1 billion a year for serious injury payouts.
Mr Corbyn said NHS parking charges fleece the public out of £162 million a year.
Tory Minister Rob Halfon and Labour working class campaigner Frank Field are among those to have demanded they are scrapped in recent years.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has faced repeated calls to end the rip-off – but has insisted it’s a decision for individual NHS Trusts.
The Tories yesterday said: “The promise isn't worth the paper it’s written on because Jeremy Corbyn simply wouldn’t be able to deliver it.
“With Corbyn in charge of our Brexit negotiations, the economy and our NHS would be at grave risk.
“There would be less money to spend in hospitals, not more.”
Jeremy Corbyn said: “Our hospitals are struggling from under-funding at the hands of Theresa May’s Conservative government, but the gap should not be filled by charging sick patients, anxious relatives and already hard-pressed NHS staff for an essential service.”