I HAVEN’T been well since I got back from holiday, so apologies if this article is a bit muddled, however that made me think about the NHS, available to all and free.

When my sons talk about paying tax, I remind them that those taxes pay for the NHS, my pension and benefits, like the Family Credit which we claimed when they were young and my farming business was going through an unprofitable period. Then I remind them that Reform intends to privatise the NHS.

And now I read that Reform are rowing back on their commitment to tax cuts, whilst Labour are stating that they may need to raise taxes, so both parties are considering breaking election pledges. We hear that Brexit is partly responsible for reducing productivity, and thus taxes which fund government spending, but what are the other factors? I was never happy with Thatcherism, with its reliance on globalism, promoting financial institutions whilst a lot of our core industries like mining closed. This continued with years of chronic under-investment in infrastructure, austerity, and rising costs, with government after government unwilling to take these issues seriously and make the changes that are necessary in order to provide services at the levels the public expects and requires.

Global politics are now less stable, with a fickle American president we cannot rely on to support Ukraine against Putin, and China the elephant in the room building an industrial powerhouse which supplies most of the West’s manufactured products. But how can we create a fairer society against this background? Would we all be willing to pay a bit more if we guarantee our children get the education we need, to get seen quickly on the NHS, to feel safer on our streets, and to see families not having to go cold or without food during the winter as they have to make a choice of paying for heating or food, and our military to be properly funded?

Undoubtedly tax rises are needed, but who should be paying more? Under the Lib Dem coalition the tax threshold increased from £6,475 in 2010, by 2015 it had risen to £1,100, an increase of over 50 per cent. However since 2015 this threshold has only risen to £12,750, meaning that those on basic state pension and minimum wage are now paying basic income tax and struggling to survive with the increased cost of living, so it needs to rise. Neither Labour nor Reform are promising to cut tax evasion or tax the banks or other multi nationals who are profiting from inflation and higher energy costs, whilst the Lib Dems, during the last election, had manifesto commitments to increase taxes on banks and oil and gas profits, social media firms, water and tobacco companies and private jets.

I am glad we have the NHS, and have now, belatedly, booked my free NHS and Covid jabs, as there are strains I am not immune to. As a former farmer I am aware that prevention is better than cure.