Conservatives reclaim the title of the “nasty party” – and demonstrate their unfitness to be in power.

Two stories in this week's news together demolish the myth of Tory fiscal competence, and put to bed any idea that the Conservative Party cares about the more vulnerable in our society.

First, PPE valued at just under £1,000,000,000 (one billion pounds) was destroyed through burning up to 28 February 2023. That's 1.4 billion items out of 3 billion purchased. In financial terms, the government spent a total of £12 billion on PPE throughout the pandemic, of which £4 billion worth was unusable by the NHS, and another £5 billion was lost due to inflated prices and other factors (figures from the Commons Public Accounts Committee).

Secondly, in its December 2021 White Paper People at the Heart of Care, the Government promised an investment of "at least £500 million over the next three years to begin to transform the way we support the social care workforce". Today, we learn from the Department of Health and Social Care about "funding for hundreds of thousands of training places, including a new Care Certificate qualification". But, far from new money, it's now only going to be backed by half the sum promised in 2021; it's a mere £250 million. In addition, the money needed to digitise the sector has been slashed from £150 million to £100 million.

Two stories: gross incompetence in the one and gross failure to care for the 9 million UK carers in the other. Compare the height of the PPE waste with the miserly new social care spend:

(Sources: Daily Telegraph, The i)

By contrast, the Liberal Democrats place Care as a key policy issue - better funding for it and better integration of health and social care services. Better resourcing of Social Care is essential. Too many needing care are suffering, as are their families and other informal carers. The workforce are seriously underpaid and are very hard hit by the Conservatives' cost of living crisis and, sadly, like so many in the public sector are voting with their feet. Not least, proper funding of social care would unlock many hospital beds and do wonders for the waiting lists. The Lib Dems here as they have been canvassing and campaigning, have spoken to many residents with caring responsibilities, and we want to see more backing for these unsung heroes in our society - but the Conservatives seem to be showing no support for them.

These broken promises seem to be a theme that runs through the Conservative party, from national to local government. It's time for change at all levels - change which will benefit us all, rather than only those at the top.