There’s a fairer way of funding social care. Here’s how

So, the Conservatives have capitulated. After days of facing negative headlines about the ‘dementia tax’ Theresa May has given in and announced that there will, after all, be a cap on care costs faced by an individual. No wonder modern governments find it so hard to eliminate their structural deficits. So loud are the protests when they propose any tax increase or cut in spending that they are doomed to limp along with an ever-greater gap between what they feel compelled to spend and what they are politically able to raise in revenue. Public opinion may be king, but it doesn’t add up to a balanced budget.

We’ve heard endlessly over the past few days of how ‘unfair’ it is that one’s inheritance is dependent on the luck of whether your parents develop a medical condition requiring long-term care. Rather less has been made of the fact that inheritance is by its very nature dependent on luck.