Conservative manifesto to pledge curbing immigration and tackling social care costs

The Conservative party manifesto to be unveiled on Thursday (18 May) will outline how it plans to cut immigration to the tens of thousands and reduce benefits for middle class pensioners to tackle social care costs.

Prime Minister Theresa May will announce that employers will have to pay more to hire overseas workers while there will be higher charges for migrants to use the NHS.

The skills charge paid by employers who hire non-EU immigrants will be doubled from £1,000 per worker to £2,000 with the revenue going to train British employees.

Migrants will also have to pay more to use the NHS as the party says it will "bear down on immigration from outside the EU" whilst controlling immigration from the European Union (EU) after Brexit.

The manifesto will also outline how the £300 winter fuel allowance will be means tested with the proceeds helping close the £2.8bn social care gap.

However, May will promise that no one will have to sell their home in their, or their partner's, lifetime to pay for care and no one will see their assets dip below £100,000, up from the current £23,250 figure.

The Telegraph reported that she will also will scrap the so-called 'triple lock' on pensions that guaranteed no rises in income tax, national insurance or VAT although there will be a commitment to lower taxes.

Also included will be a policy to scrap free school lunches for infants to pay for free breakfasts for all primary pupils with the cash used to increase schools funding by about £4bn over the parliament, it was reported.

Writing in the Telegraph, May said her party needed to "take the big, difficult decisions that are right for our country in the long term".

Labour said the Conservatives could not be trusted as they had broken 50 promises over the past two years, on living standards, NHS spending, school funding and the deficit.

The SNP, meanwhile, said Theresa May wanted a "free hand to dismantle the welfare state and to push through their reckless plans for a hard Brexit which threaten jobs, investment and livelihoods."

Labour in its manifesto announced that they will reintroduce the 50p income tax rate for people who earn more than £123,000 ($159,000) per year, while those on more than £80,000 would face an income tax of 45p.

The money will be used to scrap tuition fees, re-nationalise the railways and increase the living wage the party said.

While the Liberal Democrats announced a raft of pledges aimed at youths including the legalisation of cannabis and thousands more apprenticeships.