BORIS Johnson says National Insurance has to go up in April because “one in ten” Brits is waiting for hospital treatment — and that Margaret Thatcher fans should support it.

He said so much was spent tackling Covid, the need to balance the books could not be ignored and that legendary former Tory PM Maggie would have approved of the move.

Mr Johnson warned that six million were now waiting for some sort of treatment and that figure is set to double as the NHS struggles in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

The PM told critics to think of “the suffering that goes with that”.

He has been under huge pressure to ditch the planned 1.25 percentage point raid on workers’ wages to help ease the cost of living crisis.

But the PM told The Sun it was an inevitable consequence of the “massive, massive expenditure we saw” during Covid — and that our “country deserves better care”.

He continued: “Spending that money was essential, but it was a huge drain . . . and a country has got to pay its way.”

Risking a fresh row with Tory MPs, he claimed fans of the late Lady Thatcher should back the hike.

He said: “To all the Thatcherites and all those who believe in a low tax economy, (Chancellor) Rishi Sunak and I both believe in exactly the same agenda.

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“We are also Thatcherites in that we believe in sound money. We are responsible Conservatives so we have to do the right thing.”

In the Commons yesterday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer mocked Mr Johnson’s claims of being a “low-tax Tory”.

He quipped “Why do these alleged tax-cutters keep raising taxes on working people?”.

He added: “Isn’t it the case that he and his Chancellor are the Tory Thelma and Louise, hand in hand as they drive the country off the cliff and into the abyss of low growth and high tax?”

Mr Johnson hit back saying that it was all about dealing with the consequences of the pandemic and an unprecedented economic crisis.

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