yet again, working people are being hit hardest.

There might be some crumbs of comfort if Social Care was going to operate as it was intended to.

Even screwing the working person, is inevitably going to lead to a sharp decline in social services as the rich get richer.

I agree with you and this is very much a problem that needed to be solved. My nan is, and grandad was until he died recently, in a care home for the last few years so well aware of how crazily expensive it is.

I have no problem per se with the increase if it is being ring fenced; however I would have liked to have seen a different mechanism used to raise the funds in the early years - whether through a higher rate of income tax for higher earners, increasing CGT to be in line with income tax, or some sort of wealth tax (even though difficult in practice to do).

That has been tried but Spain keeps on sending them back.

This is a good summary of everything that can influence house prices: [Link]

There is also a big impact on the market of foreign investors and buy-to-let landlords hoovering up UK housing stock as it constitutes a 'safe' investment and reducing the supply of houses available for UK residents to buy to actually live in, especially the younger generations without the capital to even put down a deposit.

I am not denying immigration is a factor - it increases demand. The birth/death rate also has to be factored into these numbers though when you are considering the population and local demand.

So a rise in NI contributions will prevent the elderly and long-term sick from having to sell their homes to pay for care ?

In that case how do you feel about non-UK residents being allowed to buy UK residential property and not living in it? Or buy-to-let landlords allowed to have large property portfolios that reduce the supply available for others to purchase and actually live in it?