‘Rip the plaster off’: Andy Burnham sets out vision for universal free social care

PM says he will put proposals for NHS-style service funded by everybody into Labour’s next general election manifesto

Andy Burnham has said that he is going to “rip the plaster off” to fix the broken social care system, as he set out a vision for a universal service that would be free at the point of use for everybody in England.

The prime minister said the new NHS-style social care service would be funded by “everybody” but did not give further details of how his radical long-term plan would be paid for.

Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC as the Labour party conference began in Liverpool, Burnham ruled out implementing reforms before the next general election – currently due in 2029. He said Labour would put the proposals into its next general election manifesto so that voters could give their endorsement, in the hope of reducing the risk that political attacks would sink the policy.

The prime minister acknowledged that there were risks in a nationwide reform, likely to be costly and complicated to implement. “Somebody needs to grasp the nettle. I will be the one to do that,” he said. “I realise it might require me to spend some political capital, that it might make me unpopular with some, but that isn’t going to stop [me].”