Hope is important and can be hugely powerful, enabling us to imagine better ways of doing things, determine how we get there and inspire us to work towards this. The Prime Minister’s announcement on social care – described as ‘offering hope’ by a number of commentators – is a good example of this. As highlighted in my recent briefing paper on Social Care in Wales, action across a number of key areas would improve people’s experiences and the quality of care and support without the need for significant reform (although this does remain important). The growing emphasis on hope is understandable: people want reasons to feel optimistic about the future, while politicians want to offer a clear and positive vision. Delivering tangible improvements in the here and now is therefore crucial, because for many older people, hope is not measured by promises about tomorrow, but by what changes today.