[Sephiroth]

It's a lot deeper than that - especially from the perspective of today's pensionable generation.

When they were of early working age, care homes were routinely run by local councils. Quite frankly, they wanted to shed themselves of the responsibility particularly as their poor performance won no votes. So the councils divested themselves of care home responsibility and put it into the profit making private sector. I don't recall a huge outcry when this started - possibly because it simply passed working people by.

If councils resumed responsibility, it would have to be paid for through the Council Tax or through government grants funded from wealth generated taxes.

My fear is that there'll be another show speech, lacking in proper content, as a sham disguising a rise that will only fund the NHS. I expect Boris to trumpet the headline figure without separating the regions; England will be no wiser as to what it means for them as there is no English Parliament (nor should there be). But honest politicians is what is really needed. Boris will say he's solving the problem when he obviously isn't, especially when you look at Hugh's fag packet calculation.