Andy Burnham is expected to become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom after receiving backing from a large majority of Labour MPs. This follows his victory in the Makerfield by-election and Sir Keir Starmer's resignation as prime minister last month. A week-long window for MPs to gather nominations under the party's rule book opened on July 9, and Burnham has now secured enough nominations to be the only candidate eligible, with his takeover expected at the end of this week.
Burnham's History with the NHS and Social Care
Ahead of his coronation, attention turns to Burnham's stance on national issues, particularly the NHS and social care. He focused on these during his parliamentary career, notably as Labour's health secretary in 2009. Burnham has long supported a more universal social care system and suggested means to fund a national care service while serving as Greater Manchester mayor.
Previously, Burnham proposed a levy on estates to pay for universal social care. In recent years, he suggested replacing inheritance tax with a 'care levy' to fund a national care service. In a 2023 speech, he said everyone would pay towards the care levy, but "obviously the wealthiest would pay the most."
Care Levy and Estate Contributions
In a 2021 interview with Radio 4 Today, Burnham discussed estate contributions in opposition to a rumoured new tax to fund social care. He said: "I would have asked all pensioners to make a contribution so 10pc of their estate. That would introduce the NHS principle to social care so everybody would be required to contribute but then everybody would benefit and no one would have the threat of catastrophic costs hanging over them."
During his Makerfield by-election campaign, Burnham said he "would not flinch" in his plans to fix social care. "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," he said. "I wouldn’t flinch from it." He also said he would look at bringing forward the Casey review, which examines overhauling the care system in England, from 2028 to the end of this year to implement measures sooner.
Critique of Current System
Before becoming an MP, Burnham said the NHS was "almost being overwhelmed" by the "broken" care system. He did not "resile" from previous comments about abolishing inheritance tax in favour of a care levy and believes there should be a different way of paying for care. He said: "It’s a reverse of the NHS principle, social care, that the most unfortunate can just, like, lose everything, and it’s an awful thing."
He added: "I know there’s a great resentment about inheritance tax, so actually just, you know, take that away, perhaps, and look at a care levy. It’s not about asking people to pay more, it’s just people paying in the most unfair way possible at this moment in time and I think there’s a much better way of doing it, and people just have peace of mind while they’re alive, because they get the care that they need, and then it will be dealt with in a much better way."
