Sir Keir Starmer's Labour risks calamitous own goal if it neglects to address social care crisis - The Yorkshire Post says

It will come as a source of significant disappointment to families everywhere that as the Labour Party prepares to attempt to convince the nation that it represents the political change that people are craving, it appears intent on shying away from one of the most enduring societal challenges: social care.

Put simply, adult social care is in crisis with thousands upon thousands of people denied dignity and compassion owing to the absence of any semblance of a plan to look after them.

For more years than should be necessary, this newspaper has fought hard alongside dedicated campaigners in an attempt to move social care up the agenda in the minds of those best-placed to forge a way forwards, without success.

An end to this cruelty came tantalisingly close when this Government committed to putting in place the Health and Social Care Levy; a 1.25 per cent ask of us all through National Insurance Contributions, filling a pot that would change the lives of those who need it the most, for good.

Should Sir Keir Starmer's Labour shy away from social care crisis, it will be guilty of a calamitous own goal in its challenge to win confidence

But like so many things promised by this Government, that prospect was snatched away when then Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng, during his infamously calamitous time in office alongside the United Kingdom’s shortest-serving Prime Minister Liz Truss, cancelled the commitment.

Analysis shows that circa £6bn has been cut from social care budgets since 2010, leaving an estimated 1.6m people living without the care they need. Perhaps on more than any other issue, social care is an opportunity for the Labour party to differentiate itself from other political parties. It would represent a calamitous mis-step were it to miss this chance.