Burnham to put plan for free national care service to the public at next general election

Andy Burnham said he would put his plan for a national care service along the lines of the NHS, funded by the taxpayer and free at the point of use, to the public at the next general election.

The prime minister said he would “grasp the nettle” of social care reform in England, saying it is “devastating” that generations of politicians had failed to address the crisis in the system.

He denounced the current social care system as “unfair as American healthcare, where the most vulnerable in society can lose everything”, as he warned it will “in the end, break the National Health Service”.

Mr Burnham said the proposed care service will “work on NHS principles” but said it will not be introduced before the next election.

He told the BBC that current commitments in the Labour manifesto - which includes a pledge not to raise VAT, income tax, or national insurance - would “make it hard to do in this parliament”.

He said he "will develop a very clear plan, and I will put that plan to the public at a general election.

"That will be that will be where the plan gets tested. And people will then be able to decide.

"And I am prepared to put myself in that position, recognising that it might be difficult or unpopular with some, but that is the way to do it, to get that endorsement and then introduce the system in the next parliament."

He said that launching a national social care service along NHS principles is “the only way that you can make it work”.

“To be honest with you, broken social care will, in the end, break the national health service if we leave it like it is,” he said.