Claire-Louise Leyland and supporters campaigning in Kilburn

THE Conservative candidate contesting the knife-edge Hampstead and Kilburn constituency has backed Theresa May’s so-called “dementia tax” that will force residents to pay for care with their homes.

Claire-Louise Leyland, who is looking to unseat Labour’s Tulip Siddiq at the general election – now just two weeks away – said that, rather than being a manifesto wobble, the plan for social care was “sensible”. In contrast, Ms Siddiq said the Tories were lining up to penalise people who developed long-term illnesses in later life.

At a national level, the policy announcement had sent nerves jangling in the Conservatives’ high command over the weekend when an apparent lukewarm public response was matched with a narrowing of opinion polls, albeit with data still showing the Tories remain on course for a majority. Ms May shook her head at a press conference as she was accused of being “weak and wobbly” – as opposed to her campaign slogan of “strong and stable” – and performing a U-turn when she announced there would be a cap on the amount of money that would be seized. The size of that cap was not confirmed before election campaigning was suspended on Tuesday morning in the wake of the Manchester terror attack.

Seasoned political correspondents at Westminster remarked it was the first time a party leader had changed a manifesto pledge before the country had even voted. But back in Hampstead, Ms Leyland said: “It looks more like a clarification than a U-turn. I think the PM was perhaps disappointed with the way it was being misunderstood. It’s always difficult when you bring in a new policy. This is one that has been thought through for a long time, and does allow us to address the challenges that I know we are going to be facing very soon. It is a policy that means people will be able to stay in their homes, which will be hugely comforting.”

Under the policy, residents would see money taken from the sale of their homes after their death to pay for care they received, slashing the sums that families would be able to pass onto their children in inheritance from a house sale. Supporters of the move say new measures needed to be found to meet the rising cost of social care, but critics warn the chosen method of raising funds is simply asset-stripping the vulnerable.

Tulip Siddiq says the Conservatives are in chaos over care policy

Some Labour campaigners have likened it to the way their own party was accused of targeting people who had grown old in their homes with Ed Miliband’s mansion tax, which proved unpopular on the doorstep in areas such as Hampstead and Kilburn at the last election. The response to the policy could be key here where more than 20,000 residents in Camden are over 60 and thinking about the older phase of their life, while around 1,600 are suffering from dementia with varying levels of care needs.

“The Conservatives have been in total chaos from the day their appalling dementia tax was announced,” said Ms Siddiq. “The policy in their uncosted manifesto was to scrap the cap on care costs, which would have penalised individuals for having long-term illnesses, such as dementia. However, pressure from Labour and public outrage has meant that the Conservatives have decided to reintroduce a cap but have refused to say at what level. It has been a display of breathtaking incompetence and confusion. Their key manifesto pledge is in tatters.”

She added: “We can all agree that social care is in crisis, with huge pressures on unpaid carers, the NHS, public finances, and personal assets. Ensuring a sustainable social care system is vital to providing dignity in older age and support for people who are vulnerable. Only Labour can be trusted to deliver it” But Ms Leyland said: “This is a policy that means no one needs to worry and you have the comfort of knowing you can stay in your home until the end of your life. It seems like a very sensible approach to take.”

She is looking to wipe out Ms Siddiq’s majority of 1,138 – one of the smallest Labour leads in the country – on June 8. Ms Leyland began the campaign as a red hot favourite among bookmakers, priced as low as a 1/10 odds-on favourite, but Ms Siddiq’s odds of holding the seat have been cut several times since and the market has looked more even in recent days. – See Comment, page 16