Prime Minister Andy Burnham will propose free-to-use, universally funded social care in England at the next election, but has not detailed its funding. The Health Foundation estimated the free system could cost about £18bn a year; Burnham disputes the estimate.
Labour’s current manifesto pledged not to raise income tax, VAT or National Insurance, which Burnham said makes his goal hard to achieve. Possible routes include tax rises or reviving his earlier proposal for some people to pay from their inheritance. Baroness Casey’s adult social care review will influence his plans and can recommend tax changes or cuts to other spending; Burnham promised more detail at Labour’s conference on Tuesday.
Darren Jones, an internal critic, warned against increasing taxes, spending and borrowing without cuts. He said Burnham might need to consider scrapping the pension triple lock if he wanted to prioritize social care. The Conservatives criticized the potential tax burden, while Reform called the proposal another “death tax.”
