Shadow health and social care secretary Wes Streeting has seemingly hinted at policies the Labour Party is looking at but did not mention in its manifesto, launched last week.

In a BBC interview yesterday (Sunday, 16 June), the aspiring Secretary of State for Health and Social Care claimed to have hoped for “more ambitious” plans for the health and care sector from his own party, but said that he had to show plans were realistic before putting them in the manifesto.

Streeting said that spending on health and social care may be above the levels stated in the Labour Party manifesto, also revealing that his party plans to honour the Conservatives’ pledge for an £86,000 cap on care costs by October 2025 – another detail not mentioned in the manifesto.

One theory for Labour’s reticence to be “more ambitious” in its health and care plans pre-election is that an overly liberal social welfare spend might deter many of the discontented Tory voters polls are showing Labour will poach at this General Election.

Secretary of State for Transport and Conservative MP, Mark Harper, took the opportunity to accuse Labour of secretly planning to raise taxes to fund such changes, a charge Labour continues to deny.

Meanwhile, Streeting commented: “The Lib Dems have got some good ideas; other parties have got good ideas – let’s try and work together to see if we can do something that has escaped and eluded every single government.”

Commenting on the news, Jo Henney, CEO of social care charity Nugent, said: “It’s promising to hear that all parties are pledging to tackle ingrained issues with the NHS, education, social care, and housing.

“However, until we understand how the incoming government plans to fund and retain thousands of new public sector workers – especially given recent strike action and unrest – or provide free meals for every primary school child without imposing more financial burdens on the public or significant cuts to other services, we must remain sceptical to avoid voting for the ‘least worst’ option.

“As the CEO of Nugent, which looks after the most vulnerable in our society, Wes Streeting’s candidness about Labour’s social care plans is both worrying and refreshing.

“On one hand, he acknowledges the need for more to be done and frames it as part of a wider plan. However, we need transparent plans and evidence of guaranteed funding to ensure the security of our sector.

“Our system is already stretched to its limits; over-promising without a concrete strategy can be detrimental to the quality of continuous care needed for the most vulnerable members of our society.”