The NHS is hiring an army of 42 new executives on salaries of up to ￡270,000 each as Boris Johnson faces mounting anger over his tax rise to fund healthcare.
More than ￡9 million will be spent employing dozens of chief executives of new integrated care boards, each of whom will earn more than the Prime Minister.
Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, promised on Wednesday he would be “watchful for any waste” of the ￡12 billion a year tax revenue, but has yet to fully explain how the money will be spent.
On Wednesday night, senior Tories said they were “appalled” by the decision to hire the new executives, saying workers on low salaries would struggle to understand why they were having to pay more tax to fund “mega” pay packets for a legion of new managers.
It came as Mr Johnson faced a grassroots backlash over the tax rise, with Tory activists, donors and former party chairmen all expressing their dismay.
The Prime Minister faced questions about whether his Conservative Party remained committed to low taxes after he raised the tax burden to the highest level in 70 years.
There were reports of Tory members resigning in protest, amid concerns that the party’s traditional support base could become disillusioned with the leadership’s direction.
One Cabinet minister privately said they feared the plans were “the death knell of Conservatism”.
Public mood could be turning
An Opinium Research poll on Wednesday found that 45 per cent of respondents opposed the tax rise, while just 33 per cent backed it, in a sign the public mood could be turning.
The Government’s Health and Care Bill includes the creation of 42 chief executives of integrated care boards in England, whose job will be to “deliver joined-up services” incorporating the NHS and social care providers.
Each will be paid an average of ￡223,000, with seven of them advertising salaries of ￡270,000, or 80 per cent more than the Prime Minister earns.
One senior Tory backbencher said: “This is naive in political terms and appalling in practical terms.”
Another Tory MP said: “People on low salaries will have difficulty understanding why they are having to pay significantly more tax partly to pay mega salaries for these new posts.”
Prime Minister appeals to potential rebels ...
In a meeting with MPs on Wednesday, Mr Javid promised to be “watchful for any waste or wokery” from the NHS, but the new jobs advertisements, uncovered by the Guido Fawkes website, specify that applicants must “actively champion diversity, inclusion, and equality of opportunity for all”, and they make clear that “age, disability, sex, gender identity and gender expression” will be no barrier to getting the jobs.
Mr Johnson issued a last-minute plea on Wednesday to potential Tory rebels to support his social care and NHS package ahead of a snap vote in the House of Commons.
He told the 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs: “We should never forget after all we’ve been through that we are the party of free enterprise, the private sector and low taxation.”
... but former Cabinet ministers vote against the Government
However, five Tories defied his call by refusing to vote for the measure, including former Cabinet ministers Esther McVey and John Redwood, with the vote in the House of Commons passing by 319 votes to 248, a majority of 71.
There were signs of disquiet about the tax raid at all levels of the Tory Party in comments given to The Telegraph on Wednesday.
John Strafford, the chairman of the Campaign for Conservative Democracy, which represents grassroots Tory party activists, said party members had started to resign.
He said that the tax rise was “a complete departure from Conservative values” and that he would now organise a fringe event at the party conference next month titled “Time for the Conservative Party to be Conservative”.
Lord Patten, the former Tory party chairman, said he remained a “fiscal Conservative” and called it “strange” the party was no longer defined by a low-tax, low-spend stance.
Lord Tebbit, another former Tory chairman, expressed sympathy with the need to pay for pandemic-triggered spending but called for taxes to come down “as soon as possible”.
One Cabinet minister said they were deeply concerned about whether the cash will be swallowed by the NHS.
A second Cabinet minister said they were worried that the plans represented “the death knell of Conservatism”.
Johnny Leavesley, the chairman of the Midlands Industrial Council - the party’s biggest donor group - said: “It is a suppression of employment. It is going to drag down economic growth.
“If this were a Labour government, we would be shouting from the rooftops about how irresponsible it is.”
Tory MPs voice criticisms
Some Tory MPs were also critical, with Steve Baker saying “the Conservative Party, at some stage in our lifetimes, is going to have to rediscover what it stands for”.
Mr Johnson tried to ease concerns about how the new NHS money will be spent but in a BBC interview he could not say when NHS waiting lists will be back to pre-pandemic levels.
The Prime Minister also admitted that waiting lists could continue to increase before they eventually drop.
Mr Javid could not provide reassurances that there would be no more tax rises, as some Tory backbenchers expressed fears that the money would be swallowed up by the NHS and become a permanent “NHS tax” rather than a levy that also covers social care.
The Health Secretary said the ￡36 billion of extra money over the next three years would be spent on new treatments, diagnostic and surgical methods to help doctors see more patients quickly and safely using surgical hubs, virtual wards and artificial intelligence.
An NHS spokesperson said: “Overall, there will be fewer statutory boards – going from over 100 to 42 – and so the people in these roles will have responsibility for the health of thousands more people.”