WORCESTER'S MP has said the 1.25 percentage points rise in National Insurance to pay for health and social care is "the right thing to do".

But a former candidate, who stood against him at the last general election, insists there are "fairer ways" to raise the money.

Defending the plan ahead of a crucial Commons vote last night Robin Walker said that the rise "as tough as it might be" was needed to fix social care.

The MP said: "We set out protecting the NHS as our number one spending commitment in our 2019 manifesto, and tackling the long-term problems of adult social care featured highly on the Prime Minister’s agenda.

"It has been an aspiration for over a decade to deliver reforms to social care to ensure that nobody needs to lose their home to pay for care.

“Raising taxes is never preferable, but given the unique context of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on public finances it has been necessary in this instance.

"Not only will this allow us to meet the number one spending priority of investment in the NHS and to confront the massive backlog which has been caused by the pandemic, it will also enable the longstanding cross party commitment to the Dilnott reforms to social care to be delivered.

“Of course as a Conservative MP, I do not like to be in the position of putting up taxes but I recognise that my constituents expect us to take difficult decisions in order to protect our NHS, support livelihoods and meet the generational challenge of fixing social care.

"Due to the strong economic recovery that is now underway, I believe we can provide those means and that therefore, tough as it might be, this is the right thing to do.”

Lynn Denham, who was Labour's parliamentary candidate for Worcester at the 2019 election said: "People want a better NHS, they want their loved ones cared for, and are prepare to fund it, but in a fair way.

"Raising national insurance is absolutely unfair, in so many ways. It is the wrong mechanism to have chosen.

"Yes we need more investment into our NHS, starved of funding, and social care needs to be a properly funded system.

"Income tax would have been better, or a tax on wealth.

"It's a broken election promise (not to raise National Insurance) and then there's the bigger promise that was on the side of the Brexit bus.

"The current Prime Minister has not proven himself to be trustworthy, and people translate that into not trusting all politicians."