The new Prime Minister wants to find common ground across party lines, but Reform will have to 'stand alone and fight' the tax rise to pay for it
Andy Burnham is set to invite two leaders for cross-party talks about ending Britain’s social care crisis, but Reform UK’s Nigel Farage will be snubbed.
The new Prime Minister wants to find common ground across party lines to “draw a line under decades of decline”.
Despite Reform UK’s dominant polling display over the past year, the party is set to be snubbed from the discussion.
The invitation has been extended only to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, with the Prime Minister arguing the country's long-running care crisis requires politicians to "put differences aside" and work towards a lasting solution.
Mr Burnham is expected to say the Government must "draw a line under decades of decline" and end the cycle of successive administrations delaying reform because it has been viewed as "too risky, too difficult, and too complicated".
Reform UK, despite spending much of the past year leading or competing closely with Labour in national opinion polls under Mr Farage, has not been invited to Thursday's talks.
Mr Farage has been one of the Government's most vocal critics over social care funding, accusing Burnham this week of reviving plans for a so-called "death tax" after the Prime Minister pledged to pursue long-term reform through cross-party consensus.
And on Tuesday night, Reform's Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick admitted he was "not surprised" Mr Farage had not been invited.
"If he had, Nigel would have told him he’d fight this tax rise all the way," Mr Jenrick said.
"That Ed Davey and Kemi Badenoch are going along with this tells you all you need to know about their parties.
"Andy Burnham has no mandate to tax the life savings of hundreds of thousands of families. So instead of having the decency to ask the public if they’ve changed their mind about a policy they’ve rejected four times, he’s conspiring behind closed doors with the failed political establishment to foist it on the country.
"If we need to, Reform will stand alone to fight this cruel tax. Nigel and I will not see millions of families betrayed like this."
Speaking ahead of his speech, Mr Burnham said: "Last week I said we needed a different kind of politics: problem-solving, not point-scoring. Nowhere is that more urgent than social care.
"Politicians might have different views but I'm serious about fixing this issue and to do that, we have to find common ground and listen to others to find a way forward."
The Prime Minister will be joined by Health and Social Care Secretary and Baroness Louise Casey, who is leading the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care.
Ms Casey will also launch the Government's "Big Conversation on Care", an online consultation designed to gather public views on the future of England's adult social care system.
The Government says there are around 1.46 million adult social care workers in England alongside an estimated 4.7 million unpaid carers.
Official figures also show an average of 13,600 patients every day in June remained in hospital despite being medically fit for discharge, with ministers arguing delays in social care are placing additional strain on the NHS.
The decision to leave Mr Farage out of the talks comes despite Reform spending much of the past year as Britain's leading party in many opinion polls.
However, Labour has enjoyed a significant boost since Mr Burnham entered Downing Street, with a More in Common survey this week putting the party ahead of Reform for the first time since March 2025. The poll placed Labour on 28 per cent, ahead of Reform on 24 per cent, with the Conservatives on 22 per cent.
The turnaround follows what commentators have dubbed the "Burnham bounce", after the Prime Minister unveiled a series of early policy announcements aimed at tackling the cost of living, housing and public services, helping Labour erase Reform's polling lead.
