Andy Burnham has indicated that he could propose a new inheritance-based levy capable of raising billions of pounds to help establish an NHS-style social care system, which he says should be free when people need it.
The Prime Minister said he was willing to take the politically difficult step of creating a National Care Service, even if the decision proved unpopular, following years of debate over how best to support vulnerable people.
Mr Burnham has linked his determination to reform social care to the death of his father, Roy, who needed support after developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Speaking to the BBC as the Labour Party conference opened in Liverpool, Mr Burnham said plans for the service would feature in Labour’s manifesto at the next general election.
His comments suggested that additional taxation would be needed. Mr Burnham said the commitments in Labour’s 2024 manifesto made it difficult to introduce such a system during the current Parliament, meaning voters would be asked to decide on the proposal at the next election, expected in 2029.
“I am prepared to put myself in that position,” he said, acknowledging that the plan could face opposition and might be unpopular with some voters.
Tory shadow minister Chris Philp rejected the prospect of higher taxes, saying: “We do not support tax increases. This country is already taxed too highly.”
The Prime Minister said he was ready to take the politically difficult step of establishing a National Care Service, even if the move made him unpopular after years of debate over social care reform
Speaking to the BBC as the Labour Party conference began in Liverpool, Mr Burnham said the proposed changes would form part of his manifesto for the next general election
According to estimates from the Health Foundation think tank, a social care service free at the point of use could cost as much as £18.5 billion a year by 2035-36.
Mr Burnham disputed that figure, arguing that improved social care would reduce pressure on the NHS by preventing some people from requiring emergency treatment or hospital stays.
He said people were already paying heavily for care, often using tens of thousands of pounds in savings and, in some cases, being forced to sell their homes.
“That is what is happening at the moment,” he said. “To suggest there is no cost to people now ignores the enormous financial burden many families are facing.”
Mr Burnham compared England’s social care system with the US healthcare model, saying the current arrangements could leave vulnerable people financially devastated as well as dealing with the effects of their illness or condition.
Mr Burnham told the BBC that social care should be organised according to NHS principles.
Under that approach, “everyone contributes, everyone is covered”, although he said Baroness Casey was still working on the detailed proposals.
Mr Burnham is expected to set out the broad vision in his conference speech on Tuesday, but ruled out introducing the changes before a general election, saying the public would need to approve the plan.
In a separate interview with a newspaper, he said: “I won’t leave office without having grasped this nettle.”
“It is a priority for me, and I will face it,” Mr Burnham added. “It may make me unpopular, but I am going to do it.”
The comments came as Mr Burnham faced a tense Labour conference, with ministers divided over migration and figures on the party’s Left accusing him of ignoring them.
The PM is in Liverpool kicking off his first gathering since ousting Keir Starmer – but with mounting evidence that the same bitter infighting will blight his leadership.
Tensions have flared after Angela Rayner doubled down on her criticism of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s ‘un-British’ plans to make it harder for migrants to gain permanent residence in the UK.
Ms Rayner insisted this morning that there were ‘no splits’ and pointed out that Mr Burnham wanted ministers to ‘do politics differently’ by speaking out. ‘We’re not having an argument about immigration, we’re having a conversation – a national conversation,’ she told Sky News.
But the Housing Secretary’s intervention has been described by MPs as a ‘drive-by shooting’.
Meanwhile, Left-wingers have been openly sniping at Mr Burnham’s approach. Clive Lewis – once such a fervent ally that he suggested he could stand down so the-then Manchester mayor could re-enter the Commons – said the PM had ‘left his allies behind’ on entering No10 and behaved ‘terribly’.
The PM also fuelled fresh doubts about the Heathrow expansion – just weeks after his Chancellor backed it.
Mr Burnham repeatedly refused to endorse the scheme to build a third runway, suggesting it was a matter ‘for London‘ and that the Government was waiting for the outcome of a consultation.
But John Healey told the Commons earlier this month that the Government supports the project.
Mr Burnham has a record of attacks on the proposal going back years. In January last year, the then-Manchester mayor branded it a ‘model for an ever-overheating UK economy’, warning it could not come at the ‘expense of essential investment in northern infrastructure’.
Yesterday Heathrow revealed that the project could be delayed four years until 2039.
