As the Labour party conference began in Liverpool, Andy Burnham announced a radical vision to overhaul England’s broken social care system by introducing a universal service that would be free at the point of use for everybody, declaring he is ready to “rip the plaster off.”
The Bottom Line
- Prime Minister Andy Burnham has outlined plans for an NHS-style social care service funded by “everybody,” though specific long-term funding mechanisms remain unannounced.
- The nationwide reforms will not be implemented before the next general election in 2029, with Labour instead putting the proposals into its next manifesto.
- The policy discussion follows the recent death of Burnham’s father, Roy, who had Alzheimer’s, which the leader said intensified his focus on the invisible workforce on poverty pay.
Tackling a Broken System Without Immediate Implementation
Setting out his long-term agenda during an interview with Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC, Burnham stated that the current social care system in England is “as unfair as American healthcare” where the “most vulnerable in society can lose everything, they can be wiped out.” Acknowledging the political hurdles ahead, he stated: “Somebody needs to grasp the nettle. I will be the one to do that. I realise it might require me to spend some political capital, that it might make me unpopular with some, but that isn’t going to stop [me].”
Despite the urgency of the issue, Burnham ruled out implementing reforms before the next general election, which is currently due in 2029. Instead, Labour intends to include the proposals in its next general election manifesto so that voters can directly endorse them, thereby reducing the risk of political attacks sinking the policy.
| Proposal Aspect | Details Provided |
|---|---|
| Service Model | NHS-style social care, free at the point of use for everyone in England. |
| Timeline | To be included in the next general election manifesto (due by 2029); not implemented prior. |
| Funding Mechanism | Funded by “everybody,” with ongoing review and advice from Baroness Casey. |
| Cost Estimates | Annual cost claimed to be “not as high” as the £18bn previously suggested. |
Funding Questions and Personal Motivation
While declining to give detailed mechanics on how the new system would be paid for, Burnham promised further details in his conference speech on Tuesday. He noted that the annual cost of delivering an NHS-style social care service was “not as high” as the £18bn that has been suggested, and confirmed he would take his time to work out a fair funding model alongside advice from Baroness Casey. When asked if the system would mirror the NHS through general taxation, he replied: “It will be a system of that kind. So everyone contributes, everyone’s covered, but not precisely necessarily in the same way that we currently pay for the NHS.”
Burnham shared that the death of his father, Roy, who had Alzheimer’s, two weeks prior to the announcement had pushed him forward. He praised the “humour, humanity and skill” of the caretakers, asking, “How have we let this go on so long?”
Managing Political Opposition and Economic Pressures
Revisiting history, Burnham noted his 2009 proposal as health secretary for a national care service, which was ultimately abandoned after opponents branded it a “death tax.” Addressing potential pushback against his latest vision, he warned against political scaremongering. “If we continue to approach this issue with politics as usual, where people are scoring points and they’re taking a proposal and then trying to frighten the public at home about it, we will never fix it,” he stated.
Amid concerns over public finances and a febrile global economic backdrop, Burnham maintained that chancellor John Healey would run the economy prudently, avoiding risks taken by the previous Conservative government. Burnham stated he was willing to cut government spending to balance the books while prioritizing long-term productivity gains in areas like rough sleeping and youth unemployment.
