Conservatives in humiliating u-turn on 'dementia tax' after criticism
May in climbdown as poll lead halved; tries to accuse Corbyn of 'fake news'
Tories backtrack on manifesto pledge less than a week after it was unveiled
Party buys ads on Google to deflect from negative coverage of policy
UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative party has been forced into a humiliating climbdown on a controversial manifesto promise known as the 'dementia tax' following sharp criticism of the party’s social care policy.
May has now said there will be an "absolute limit" on the increase in social care costs for older citizens, during a campaign event for the Welsh Conservatives on Monday.
May did not give further details on the plan to introduce the cap or how much it would be. Her suggestion that opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn had made "fake claims" that some people would lose their homes under the policy were also found to be incorrect when the Guardian revealed that the manifesto carried no limit on how much people could end up paying for their care in old age.
The Prime Minister appeared agitated during Monday's press conference, denying that the introduction of a cap was in any way a climbdown from last week's manifesto vow.
"Let's be clear we have not changed the principles we set out in our manifesto. What we have done is clarified that in the green paper which will be a consultation document we will have an upper limit. But the basic principles remain the same," May told the media.
Early polls indicating a landslide Conservative win in next month's election appear to have reversed in recent days as Labour appear to be taking advantage of their opposition's woes.
THE REAL FACTS
The Tory U-turn arrived as the party was also facing criticism for paying for the top-ranked search result for 'dementia tax' on Google. The manifesto includes the social care policy provision, which has been referred to as the ‘dementia tax’ due to its impact on older citizens.
tories back peddle on dementia tax, they buy google adds to try and cover up the story...google puts its own suggestions underneath, classic pic.twitter.com/QTkDrB0LbA
— Arrgee_Mugwump (@W4RN3R1969) May 22, 2017
The move came in response to growing criticism of May and her party’s manifesto commitments, with the Tories likely to have spent thousands of pounds on placing their advertisement in Google’s primary spot.Now the top result for 'dementia tax' is occupied by the Conservatives’ headline and link to their website. The line reads "the so-called 'dementia tax' – get the real facts."
Several news stories appear below the ad which display negative headlines related to the Conservatives’ social care plan.
The issue of major tech companies' influence on elections and other key votes has been called into question over the last twelve months, with Google and Facebook receiving particular attention due to the rise of so-called 'fake news' during the last year.
Rankings in Google searches are available to be bought through digital auctions, with companies and organisations competing for the top spots and resultant exposure.