Two years after PM Boris Johnson claimed he had a ready-made plan to solve the social care crisis, the Tories are riven on an issue that the TUC says will be a key test of the government’s “levelling-up” mantra.

Over the weekend, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said he did not rule out raising taxes to fund social care but, when pressed, would say only that he would be happy to discuss the details when they are published.

Former Tory premier John Major was among those urging Mr Johnson not to take the “regressive” step of increasing national insurance but to take the “straightforward and honest” step of increasing general taxation.

National Pensioners’ Convention general secretary Jan Shortt said that whatever percentage national insurance increase the government chose would not solve the social care crisis or replace funding lost by the NHS.

Ms Shortt said: “Only radical change to a national care service funded by taxation, free at the point of need for everyone, will bring a publicly accountable service.

“Over 10 years of funding cuts to the NHS and care have left both services in crisis.”

Ms Shortt added that merely capping the cost of care — the government is reported to be considering £80,000 — would “drive even more people into the arms of equity-release companies.”

Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky TV that Labour supported the TUC’s “broad principle” of increasing taxes for the wealthy to pay for NHS and social care recovery.

She said that the PM’s plan to break his 2019 manifesto pledge and increase national insurance would “load the entirety of the cost of social care on to supermarket workers, delivery drivers who are already suffering with high childcare costs, high housing costs and who kept us going through the pandemic.”