Prime Minister Andy Burnham has set his sights on social care reform as part of his second week of policy announcements, themed 'chronic headaches'. He described the current system in England as 'as unfair as American healthcare' and pledged to expend whatever political capital is necessary to achieve change.
The current social care system in England
Under existing rules, individuals with savings exceeding £23,250 must pay all their care costs, whether for a care home or at-home support. Those below the threshold receive council support. This strict cutoff forces many to deplete their savings, sell homes, or forgo care until they qualify for assistance.
A history of failed reforms
Social care has resisted reform for decades. Since a 1997 Royal Commission under Tony Blair, there have been 22 further reviews, reports, and commissions with no successful overhaul. Burnham himself attempted reform in 2010 as health secretary under Gordon Brown, proposing a National Care Service funded by a 10% levy on estates after death. The Conservatives branded it a 'death tax', featuring an advert with a grave marked 'R.I.P. OFF', and Labour lost that year's election.
In 2017, Theresa May's Conservative manifesto proposed raising the asset threshold for home care to £100,000 but counting home value for the first time. Labour dubbed it a 'dementia tax', and the backlash cost May her parliamentary majority.
Burnham's lesson from 2010
Reflecting on his earlier failure, Burnham said: 'What I got wrong was going too close to a general election, when there just wasn't time for those issues to breathe.' He now faces the challenge of navigating a sensitive topic that requires significant funding during a period of fiscal constraint. While polls show a 'Burnham bounce' for Labour, the social care gamble could erode that goodwill.
Burnham's determination signals a high-stakes bet on solving one of England's most intractable policy problems.
