Andy Burnham has been accused of “firing the starting gun” on further tax rises after admitting “difficult decisions” must be made in order to fund his social care reforms.
Earlier today, the Prime Minister unveiled a three-point plan to fix social care after years of “shameful” neglect, which included bringing forward Baroness Louise Casey’s social care review.
Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick insisted his party, which was snubbed from cross-party talks, would not fund social care with a “mammoth tax assault”.
Mr Jenrick said: “Make no mistake, today Andy Burnham fired the starting gun on his scheme to raid the little money that hundreds of thousands of regular people have struggled to save over their lifetimes.
“That’s why he can’t rule out the new universal death tax.
“He won’t cut the money we hand out to migrants who have just come to our country, or cut the cash we hand out to rich foreign states in aid or reduce the benefit payments to people who are choosing not to work – instead he’s eying up another slice from hard-earned savings of Brits as their lives end.
“It’s typical that the Tories and Lib Dems are conspiring with Labour to foist this tax on a country that has rejected it four times.”
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Nigel Farage hits out at Andy Burnham’s ‘Westminster club’ after social care snub
Nigel Farage has hit out at Andy Burnham’s “Westminster club” after the Reform UK chief was not invited to partake in “constructive” talks on social care reform.
Earlier today, he told broadcasters: “I mean, this is the uni-party.
“This is the Westminster establishment who failed on social care time and time again.
“They don’t want to hear a fresh, reforming voice. It’s the club in Westminster.”
Tories held ‘constructive dialogue’ with Andy Burnham after PM extends invitation to major parties
The Tories have held a “constructive dialogue” with Andy Burnham after the Prime Minister extended an invitation to the major political parties.
Collaborating on social care reform, Shadow Health Secretary Stuart Andrew said the talks were in the “early stages” but remained constructive.
Andy Burnham accused of ‘running scared’ from Reform after cross-party talk snub: ‘Uniparty in action!’
Andy Burnham has been accused of “running scared” from Reform UK after snubbing the party in cross-party talks on social care.
Speaking to GB News, Reform’s education spokeswoman Suella Braverman said the move reveals the ongoing “uniparty” attitude in UK politics.
Mr Burnham extended his invitation to leaders of the main political parties in the Commons, including Tory Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat Sir Ed Davey. He did not invite Mr Farage.
Hitting back at the snub, the Reform leader said: “If Andy Burnham is serious about putting politics aside to solve Britain’s biggest problems, it’s remarkable that he’s chosen to ignore the party that led over 300 national opinion polls and represents thousands of councillors and millions of Britons across the country.”
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
Andy Burnham orders closest aides to not speak to journalists
Andy Burnham is said to have ordered his closest aides to not speak to journalists.
Only his media advisers will be allowed to speak to the press, The Times revealed, as one source insisted it signalled the new Prime Minister was focused on “every postcode, not just SW1 and Fleet Street”.
Mr Burnham is said to have spent the past year planning to take over Sir Keir Starmer’s job in the very heart of SW1.
Meanwhile, his Cabinet ministers have been warned they will face “consequences” if policy is leaked by allies.
WATCH: Hilarious moment Andy Burnham mistaken for local candidate by care home resident
Watch the moment Prime Minister Andy Burnham is mistaken for a local candidate by a care home resident.
Meeting resident Robert, Mr Burnham was asked if he was the “local candidate”.
The Prime Minister told Robert: “I was a local candidate, I had a by-election a few weeks ago. But I’m now the Prime Minister.”
Surprised by the revelation, Robert exclaimed: “What, a new one?! It changes every five minutes!”
WATCH THE HILARIOUS MOMENT HERE
Andy Burnham sets out three-point plan to fix social care unveiled
During his speech today, Andy Burnham revealed a three-point plan to fix social care.
He called it a “major dereliction of public duty”, adding it was “shameful that politicians have put punch scoring before fixing this issue”.
In order to improve the social care system, to which he has said will be a top priority while he is in No10, he set out a three-point plan today at a press conference.
The first proposal he announced was to ask Baroness Louise Casey to bring forward her social care review publication by a year, to now be due in 2027.
The second proposal is to immediately focus on the social care’s workforce, particularly around pay.
The third point, he said, was to initiate cross-party talks on social care, referencing how he had invited opposition leaders Kemi Badenoch and Sir Ed Davey to collaborate on the issue.
He said on cross-party collaboration: “I have been here before, and yes, I do have some of the scars of of that, but it’s the right thing to do.
“I stood on the steps of Downing Street just a few days ago, and I said I wanted to create a new way of doing politics in this country, more problem solving, less point scoring, and this is the first big test of that.”
Andy Burnham avoids committing to 3 per cent of GDP defence spending
Andy Burnham avoided committing to spending three per cent of GDP on defence by 2030.
Asked by the Telegraph at a press conference today if he would back the 2030 target, he deflected their question, committing only to the 2035 Nato goal.
He said: “When it comes to defence obviously those commitments relate to the Parliament after this one in terms of our Nato commitments.
“I have been very clear that we will honour those commitments.”
Andy Burnham weighs in on Fifa privatisation row
Andy Burnham has weighed in on the row over Fifa’s plan to sell stakes in its major competitions, insisting the World Cup is “not a product” and belongs to fans rather than investors.
It comes after Fifa unveiled proposals for a private company to run its tournaments, reportedly with links to Donald Trump’s extended family — a move that has sparked backlash from Uefa, the FA and other football bodies.
The FA said it was “deeply concerned” by the lack of transparency, while Uefa warned the plan “crosses a line football’s governing institutions should never cross”.
Palliative and social care needs fixing before assisted dying debate, says Andy Burnham
Palliative and social care needs to be fixed before the assisted dying debate can be considered in the UK, Andy Burnham has said.
After being asked about his position on assisted dying, he said: “I take the view that that debate – and I don’t say that there shouldn’t be a debate at some point about those issues – personally, I think there’s something that needs to happen first.
“That is the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care.
“I think it is very challenging to introduce that wider debate in a context of people not receiving that care and having the peace of mind about that care.
“That’s the way I kind of see this, and that’s the position that I will stick to.”
MPs are set to once again debate a Bill designed to legalise assisted dying after summer recess.
Andy Burnham admits ‘difficult decisions’ will be made on tax to fund social care reforms
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has admitted “difficult decisions” will be made as fears grow a tax hike is on its way to fund the country’s estimated £18billion social care bill.
During a press conference outlining his commitment to tackling Britain’s social care crisis, Mr Burnham asserted that carers should be the “best paid in society”.
The new Prime Minister has handed over an olive branch to other political party leaders, except Reform’s Nigel Farage, to address the situation.
When asked whether he will raise taxes to fund his plans, Mr Burnham claimed social care can be improved “within existing budgets”.
Read Patrick O’Donnell’s story here.
Carers should be ‘best paid people in society’, Andy Burnham says
Andy Burnham has said carers should be the “best paid people in society, not the worst”.
Speaking at a press conference on social care reforms, he made the decision not to speak from notes, but “from the heart” as he recalls the care his father received, wanting to recognise the good about the current social care system.
He said: “I watch sometimes how people communicate with my Dad, and they’re able to catch a kind of a moment of the old character.
“It kind of just will come out because of the way they draw in the conversation, and that is an amazing talent to have.
“Moving from a wheelchair to an armchair, or from there to a bed without distress or discomfort. It is incredibly demanding and skillful what they do, and that needs to be to be recognised.”
‘Difficult questions’ need to be asked about who gets state support for care, says Baroness Casey
Baroness Louise Casey has said “difficult questions” need to be asked about who among those classed as disabled should receive state help, warning that some people “struggling beyond belief” are currently not getting enough support.
Speaking to the BBC, she said: “I think we ought to ask some sort of difficult questions… Essentially, if you look at the figures, something like 16.8 million people answered questions that took you to a point that they would be classified by the Department of Work and Pensions as disabled, and I don’t buy it.
“I would qualify, and I’m sitting here right now. I’m not disabled, but I could qualify if I answered those questions based on my medical records, it’s simple as.”
She said some people are “struggling beyond belief” to get help for themselves or family members with serious disabilities, and are not getting enough support.
“At the same time… I’m asking the country to just take a breath for a minute and think: ‘who should we be looking after, and how’ is the most important, I think, question facing the British welfare state in the 21st century,” she said.
Nigel Farage slams Andy Burnham’s social care snub
Nigel Farage has branded Andy Burnham’s move to not include Reform in social care talks as “remarkable”, calling it an example of the “uniparty in action”.
Writing on X, the Reform leader said: “If Andy Burnham is serious about putting politics aside to solve Britain’s biggest problems, it’s remarkable that he’s chosen to ignore Reform.
“He is conspiring behind closed doors with the failed political establishment to foist further tax rises on the country.
“The fact Ed Davey and Kemi Badenoch are going along with this tells you all you need to know. This is the uniparty in action.”
Baroness Casey points out public already paying for social care and new tax suggestion is ‘cuckoo land’
Baroness Louise Casey has pointed out the public are already paying for social care through taxation and suggested a new tax is “just kind of cloud cuckoo land”.
Speaking to the BBC, she said: “The vision that we must have for a country when it comes to a national care service is that the public do not have to face this constant battle lines between who does what and how.
“The idea that a member of the public is having to navigate their way through a system that tells you all you need to know about public services.”
Baroness Casey, who is leading a commission into social care, pointed out the public is already paying for care through taxation, dismissing suggestions of an entirely new service and tax as unrealistic.
“Incidentally … they’re already paying for it. So this idea that somehow somebody’s going to come along and say: ‘Hello, here’s a whole new service and a whole new tax,’ is just kind of cloud cuckoo land,” she said.
Chris Philp: Andy Burnham is ‘completely out of touch’
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has called Andy Burnham “completely out of touch” after following a group of illegal migrants on a French beach, heading for the UK.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Philp said he had only “encountered about four or five gendarmes” (French police) in the past five hours, despite there being a group of around 40 migrants heading for a small boat.
He said: “I’ve been going to places which we know are the hot spots for migrant embarkations, but more to the point, even where the migrants are encountered by the gendarmerie and they don’t take proper action.
“Shabana Mahmood is not getting value for money for the half billion pounds that she is spending.
“And when Andy Burnham says the problem is fixed, he is completely out of touch.”
French authorities helping illegal migrants to cross Channel, says Chris Philp
The French authorities are helping illegal migrants to cross the Channel, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has said, adding “this is not Shabana Mahmood’s deal”.
Speaking to GB News from a beach in northern France, Mr Philp said: “Yesterday the French were assisting the migrant dinghy by handing out life jackets.
“The French made no attempt to stop the embarkation. There’s the footage of we took from our drone yesterday of the French vessel handing over life jackets.
“The French made no attempt to stop the boat at sea or on the beach, even though the Belgians do stop boats at sea doing effectively and without any loss of life.
“So, Shabana Mahmood should not be paying half a billion pounds of our money to the French when they’re failing to stop these embarkations.”
Robert Jenrick ‘not surprised’ Andy Burnham has snubbed Nigel Farage on social care meeting
Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick has said he is not “surprised” Andy Burnham did not invite Nigel Farage to the cross-party meeting on tackling social care.
Writing on X, he said: “I’m not surprised that Andy Burnham hasn’t invited Nigel Farage. If he had, Nigel would have told him he’d fight this tax rise all the way.
“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.”
Ed Davey suggests cap on private firms’ profit from social care
Sir Ed Davey has floated new regulation to cap how much profit private firms can rake in from social care, saying he has no issue with providers making money, just with some charging “ridiculous amounts.”
The Liberal Democrat leader, whose son needs full-time care, argued the sector needs proper rules to stop taxpayers and families being overcharged, saying it “has not been looked at properly”.
Speaking to the BBC, he said care should be funded through a mix of general taxation and contributions from those who need it, adding that better-supported families could pay more towards costs.
He said his party would be prepared to back proposals from Andy Burnham to reform social care.
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