Andy Burnham: ‘I am talking about a system that works on NHS principles’

Speaking to the BBC from Labour’s conference this morning, the Prime Minister proposed a free national care service, and hinted that he would outline some sort of tax rise to pay for it at the next general election. Andy Burnham said he would be the one to ‘grasp the nettle’ on social care reform, even if it meant spending ‘political capital’. The PM argued that the care and health systems ‘just don’t connect’, leaving thousands of people arriving in A&E every day, the most expensive part of the system. He said he would propose a national care service that works on NHS principles and is ‘universal’. Kuenssberg asked whether this meant free personal care for everyone in England who needs it. Burnham did not directly confirm this, but said it was not right that people in England do not get the same free personal care as is available in Scotland. He said reform would not be rushed because the pressures on the public finances are ‘real’, but warned that ‘broken social care’ would eventually break the NHS. When Kuenssberg pressed Burnham on whether Burnham intended to raise taxes, he argued that people are already paying a ‘huge cost’ for care, but admitted that the new system would be one where ‘everyone contributes’.

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