British Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged on Wednesday, July 29th, 2026, to take difficult decisions to overhaul England’s adult social care system. Speaking at a care home in north London, Burnham criticized parliament for failing to address the issue, calling it “a major dereliction of public duty.”

Burnham expressed his intention to work with other parties to end the unfairly high costs faced by users of adult social care, which he likened to the US healthcare system. He noted that successive governments have failed to reform the system, with previous proposals defeated by opposition parties who labeled them a “dementia tax” or “death tax.”

While Burnham did not rule out tax rises to fund a new scheme, he emphasized that “scare stories” from newspaper headlines would not deter him from tackling the problem, which is expected to worsen as the population ages. When asked if social care could be transformed without raising taxes, he said more could be done within existing resources but acknowledged that some plans “will require difficult decisions.”

He also committed to honesty with the public about these decisions and affirmed his manifesto pledge not to raise certain personal taxes.

Sources