The Prime Minister said too many people had lost their homes and life savings
Andy Burnham has said the failure to fix Britain's social care crisis is "not defensible", accusing politicians of allowing the problem to drag on for decades.
The Prime Minister said too many people had lost their homes and life savings because successive governments had failed to act.
He insisted he was prepared to spend his "political capital" on reform, arguing that fixing social care would also ease pressure on the NHS.
"It's not defensible," Mr Burnham said. "How many people have lost their homes and their savings in that time? We need to face it and fix it."
Mr Burnham is expected to fast-track reforms aimed at tackling Britain’s growing social care crisis, with the Casey Commission asked to bring forward its recommendations from 2028 to the end of this year.
Speeding up the review is expected to be one of his first acts in office as Labour leader.
On Thursday, he made clear he was prepared to “expend quite a lot of political capital” on care for the elderly and tackle one of the biggest issues facing Westminster.
Mr Burnham, whose own father has Alzheimer’s, reinforced the importance of social care in his acceptance speech on Friday, placing it at the centre of his plans for Labour.
He said: “Let’s take a problem-solving approach rather than a point-scoring approach.
“Let’s have the courage to fix the big things that politics has neglected, like social care, and have the conviction to go out there together and argue for our plans.”
The Greater Manchester mayor has long championed the creation of a National Care Service to run alongside the NHS, with social care free at the point of use.
He has also backed a “national care levy” to replace inheritance tax, arguing it would provide funding for people’s needs in later life.
However, Mr Burnham is yet to set out how any reforms would be paid for, previously saying he would “look at all of the kind of implications of that in relation to inheritance tax and care charges and everything”.
Launching his campaign for the Makerfield by-election in May, he said he would “take a look at the care levy” as part of his plans.
Dame Louise Casey’s commission on reforming social care in England began in April last year and was given a 2028 deadline by Sir Keir Starmer’s Government to publish its final report.
It is understood Mr Burnham wants the review to move much faster, with recommendations delivered by the end of this year.
