Prime Minister Andy Burnham was left laughing after a care home resident told him that the occupant of No 10 'keeps changing every five minutes' during a visit to a Jewish Care home in north west London. The exchange occurred as Burnham toured the facility to introduce his new plans for social care in England.
Resident Unaware of New PM
Meeting residents, Burnham encountered a man who did not recognise him. The resident asked: 'You are the local candidate, are you?' Burnham chuckled and referenced the recent Makerfield by-election he won in June. He replied: 'I was a local candidate; I had a by-election a few weeks ago. I am now the Prime Minister.' Stunned, the care home resident asked: 'You're what?' A nurse helped him out, telling him: 'He's the Prime Minister.' The resident asked: 'What, a new one?'
Humorous Exchange
Seeing the funny side, Burnham joked: 'Another one.' His counterpart also saw the funny side, adding: 'Well it keeps changing every five minutes.' Burnham answered with a smile: 'I know.' The country has had seven prime ministers in the 10 years since the 2016 Brexit referendum. After only two years in office, Keir Starmer quit in June and was replaced by Burnham this month.
Social Care Plans Unveiled
One of Burnham's first acts as Prime Minister has been a pledge to end a decade of government inaction on fixing social care in England. Speaking at the care home this afternoon, he said it had been a 'major dereliction of public duty' that previous governments had addressed the crisis. He plans to introduce a new national care service and wants care workers to have better pay and training. In a sign of his determination to fix the sector, he said a landmark review of social care by Baroness Casey would be published next summer, instead of 2028.
Cross-Party Talks
Burnham admitted his plans for social care 'will require difficult decisions' that he said would be 'put before the country' for the people's consent. This afternoon he also held talks with the Lib Dems and Conservative Party to generate cross-party backing for his plans.
