Burnham floats estate levy for social care as papers split on the idea

The Mayor of Greater Manchester has proposed a levy on all estates to fund social care, an idea the Mirror endorses as the fairest option and the Express dismisses as barmy.

The detail matters: whether the levy would apply above a threshold, what rate, whether it replaces existing inheritance tax or sits alongside it. None of that is yet specified. What is clear is that the argument has landed exactly where these arguments always land - those who own property see confiscation, those who do not see overdue contribution.

The bench notes that inheritance tax already exists, raising several billion a year, and that social care already costs the exchequer tens of billions. A new levy is either an admission that the existing tax is politically untouchable for expansion, or a rebranding exercise. The question is whether a rebadged charge polls better than the one we have - governments have tried that before.

The test will be whether Burnham or anyone else attaches numbers and a threshold. Until then it is a principle in search of a policy, and principles are the easy part.