Andy Burnham, John Healey and Angela Rayner have announced a wide-ranging set of proposed changes to UK laws and rules, covering areas from the pensions triple lock to tax, housing and bills. The announcements were made at the Labour Party Conference.
Triple lock changes to fund social care
The Prime Minister pledged to tackle issues politicians “usually avoid” in his first Labour Party conference speech as leader. He announced plans for free social care in England, funded by a change to the pensions triple lock. Under the proposal, the policy of increasing state pension payments by one of three metrics – inflation, wage growth or a flat 2.5% – would be reduced to just two, inflation or 2.5%, with wage growth no longer factored in as of 2030.
Mr Burnham rejected the suggestion that he was picking on pensioners with the triple lock change. Asked why he was targeting pensioners, he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I think you’ve got it completely wrong really, if you don’t mind me saying, to put it like that, because I have put out today a vision for a national care service. There are pensioners out there who watch your programme who are paying for care costs from their basic state pension. Now, is that right or fair?”
Water industry and electoral reform
Mr Burnham also vowed to strengthen public control of the water system with a Bill that will repeal “Margaret Thatcher’s ideological ban on public ownership of water companies”. He said that will “start a 10-year journey to a very different water system”, giving local leaders new powers to hold water companies to account and closing loopholes used to pay big bonuses.
The Labour leader described the water industry as a “symbol of what has gone wrong with Britain” in which “shareholders never lose and the public never win, from which some have syphoned out easy money while the public picked up the bill for the sewage in our seas”.
On electoral reform, Mr Burnham vowed to fight the next election with a manifesto pledge to overhaul the electoral system “so everyone’s vote counts and everyone’s voice is heard”. He announced a new national commission on electoral reform, inviting all political parties to take part in its work. The Prime Minister has long endorsed proposals to replace the first-past-the-post system with a form of proportional representation.
Housing laws and next steps
Secretary of State for Housing Angela Rayner also announced a range of new laws for households, including on leaseholds and the ability to seize empty housing. The Chancellor, John Healey, is preparing his first Budget in October.
The changes are subject to the usual Parliamentary process being successful before they come into force.
