Andy Burnham has set out his plan to transform Britain, including by ending the existing state pension triple lock from 2030 to help fund a new national care service. In his first Labour Party conference speech as prime minister, Burnham also said he wants to pave the way for greater public control over housing, water and energy services, and potentially reform the UK’s electoral system. After days of questions over how to fund his social care reforms in England, Burnham pointed to changing the triple lock to generate “significant savings”. His plans would see the state pension increase every year at least by inflation or 2.5% – but remove the automatic annual link with average earnings.
Andy Burnham: Northern PM’s long journey to power In front of a packed hall and watched on by family and friends, Burnham spoke for more than an hour – at times pausing and appearing to hold back tears as he referred to his father, Roy, who died earlier this month. Arriving on stage to the sound of “All Together Now” by Liverpool band The Farm, Burnham made the song title a theme of his speech. He said he wanted to “draw a line on a decade of division” and to “stop doomscrolling on posts running Britain down”. Burnham also told conference that he wants to “put the country on a new path” and recalled his family’s “working-class aspiration” and how the government wanted to “unlock” this for others.
There was an expectation that Burnham’s time in Liverpool for his party’s conference would see him flesh out his vision for the future of the country. In the conference hall, he offered more details albeit with some of the proposals relating to the content of the Labour manifesto at the next general election rather than delivering immediate action. Burnham’s plan to offer free at the point of use social care in England is among those being developed so it can be put before voters in 2029. He said it would be “fully funded and not through borrowing”.
Explaining his long-held ambition to make changes, he raised his family’s experiences – including how his grandmother Kitty’s engagement ring was “ripped from her finger and stolen in a care home”. He argued a national care service was a “landmark” policy that would be “as significant as the creation of the NHS itself and utterly essential to securing its future”. Before turning to the pension triple lock changes, Burnham accepted he may “pay a political price” by trying to make the reforms but argued “someone has to go through the pain barrier and rip the plaster off”. The triple lock was introduced in 2010 by the coalition government and designed to ensure the value of the state pension was not overtaken by the increase in the cost of living or the incomes of working people.
It means the state pension rates rise every April by either inflation, earnings growth or 2.5% – whichever is the highest. Burnham said this will stay in place until 2030, at which point he would like to “adjust it”. He said: “The state pension will continue to rise every year at least by prices or 2.5%. And it will hold its value relative to earnings over time so that pensioners will always share in the rising prosperity of the nation.
“But this change will generate significant savings which we will use to build up our national care service. “Some may not realise it but older people with nothing more than the state pension, or only a little more, can find themselves paying care changes today from that small income. Under my plan, this will no longer happen.” Officials have suggested the change could save £15bn a year by 2040. Jonathan Cribb, deputy director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said savings “are likely to be relatively small in the first few years, but rise substantially over time”.
He also said “we should not expect this reform to save enough that it could fund universal social care in the next parliament”. Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, told the BBC she believed the government should have “pulled another lever”, such as a wealth tax, rather than making changes to the triple lock. The political backlash was immediate. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said “more tax rises are inevitable” under Labour’s plan, while Reform UK’s Nigel Farage accused the PM of “launching an offensive against our elderly”.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said families “cannot wait until after another election and it can’t be funded from the pockets of our poorest pensioners”. Elsewhere in his speech, Burnham said he wanted to repeal “Margaret Thatcher’s ideological ban on public ownership of water companies”. The PM said legislation will be put before Parliament, adding the changes will “start a 10-year journey to a very different water system”, which includes new powers for mayors to hold “companies to account”. Burnham said it will be made easier for councils to acquire private rented homes in poor condition if landlords refuse to take action after being issued warnings.
He said the government will change the law “if necessary”. Burnham also told delegates that “Brexit has done more harm than good” before he indicated he wanted to explore closer UK-EU ties. Ahead of talks expected later this year with EU chiefs, Burnham said he would set out the “different options” for Britain’s “long-term relationship” with the bloc. He said: “I will see if we can find consensus around one, which will give us clarity about our position and the future of the continent that we live in.” To cheers in the hall, Burnham announced a national commission on electoral reform, which could result in changes to the current voting system for UK parliamentary elections.
He asked all political parties to contribute to the work of the commission, adding: “We will contest the next election with a manifesto commitment to change the electoral system so that everyone’s vote counts and everyone’s voice is heard.” In response, Skills Minister Baroness Smith of Malvern told the PA news agency: “Electoral reform isn’t top of my list of priorities. Good luck to the commission. I shall be interested in what it comes out with.” Burnham also said he wants to “invest” in young people and change the education system and welfare system. He said: “We will rebuild a system of comprehensive education in this country, with parity between academic and technical.” Burnham added there needs to be a “fundamental rethink” of the welfare system to fund new opportunities for young people.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski said the PM’s conference speech contained little more than “half measures, reannouncements and tinkering”. Five takeaways from Andy Burnham’s Labour conference speech Scrapping pensions triple lock ‘morally wrong’, says union boss Burnham proposes NHS-style social care system for England
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