‘I wouldn’t flinch’: Burnham on social care, markets, Brexit – and the prospect of a general election

A ndy Burnham has signalled he would begin transforming England’s broken social care system this year if he became prime minister, accusing Westminster of “flinching away” from tackling difficult policy problems. The Greater Manchester mayor said politicians must be willing to take on “the weight of the system” that stood in the way of radical change, as he began to set out his prospectus for government if he won the Makerfield byelection . Burnham, who first tried to change the social care system when he was Labour’s health secretary in 2009, said there was an urgent need to fix the crisis. Then, he had planned a levy on estates to pay for universal social care, while in recent years he has talked about replacing inheritance tax with a progressive “care levy” to fund a national care service. “It is urgent, the need to fix social care, and I personally would look at all of the kind of implications of that in relation to inheritance tax and care charges and everything. I wouldn’t flinch from it,” he said. He suggested bringing forward the Casey review , which is tasked with drawing up proposals, including on funding, from 2028. He said he would like it published by the end of 2026, focusing on measures that could be implemented quickly. And on Thursday night Burnham confirmed for the first time that he intends to run in a Labour leadership contest. …