Andy Burnham used his maiden speech as leader of the Labour Party to announce that he wants to improve social care in the UK.
Speaking earlier today, the MP for Makerfield said: “Let’s have the courage to fix the big things that politics has neglected, like social care, and have the conviction to go out there together and argue for our plans, and let’s have the self-confidence to find common ground with other parties where we can.”
Burnham, who is set to replace Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister next week, became leader after securing the backing of 379 Labour MPs.
The speech lacked detail on what Burnham’s plans for fixing social care are, but there is a need to tackle the issues behind the problem.
Age UK estimated there are two million older people who need some form of social care but do not have it.
Problems with social care access have also been cited as a key reason for many older people remaining in hospital longer than they have to, putting additional strain on the NHS which has 7.3 million people waiting for treatment.
Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King’s Fund, welcomed the Labour leader’s commitment to fixing social care.
“This will go a long way to raising the profile of the issue and give a government the opportunity to bring the country with them in their argument for reform,“ she said.
“It is a mission statement that should galvanise the social care sector and give hope to all those who are in or have had to deal with this broken system that change might finally be coming.
“It will also be a benchmark against which his government will be measured,” she added.