Burnham, who first tried to change the social care system when he was Labour\u2019s health secretary in 2009, said there was an urgent need to fix the crisis. Then, he had planned a levy on estates to pay for universal social care, while in recent years he has talked about replacing inheritance tax with a progressive \u201ccare levy\u201d to fund a national care service.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is urgent, the need to fix social care, and I personally would look at all of the kind of implications of that in relation to inheritance tax and care charges and everything. I wouldn\u2019t flinch from it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He suggested bringing forward the Casey review<\/a>, which is tasked with drawing up proposals, including on funding, from 2028. He said he would like it published by the end of 2026, focusing on measures that could be implemented quickly.<\/p>\n In an interview with the Guardian while campaigning in Makerfield, where he is fighting to hold Labour\u2019s seat against the threat of Reform UK, Burnham also:<\/p>\n Said Labour should be a broad church with more government ministers from the left of the party, but Jeremy Corbyn should not be allowed back in.<\/p>\n Signalled there would be no snap election if he replaced Keir Starmer, but defended himself from criticism over a shadow leadership campaign.<\/p>\n Defended his comments that politicians should not be \u201cin hock\u201d to the bond markets<\/a>, and denied he was boxing himself in by sticking to Rachel Reeves\u2019s fiscal rules.<\/p>\n Argued it would be a mistake to rerun the Brexit referendum but that he wanted the UK to rejoin the EU in his lifetime.<\/p>\n Praised Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, for \u201cfacing up\u201d to the big issues on immigration.<\/p>\n Since his selection for the seat, Burnham has navigated a difficult path between setting out his vision for government, while denying he was using it as a stepping stone to power. He was \u201c100%\u201d focused on winning the byelection, he said, adding it was \u201cweird\u201d being asked who would be in his cabinet.<\/p>\n Burnham canvassing undecided voters at Hindley Green in the Makerfield constituency. Photograph: Christopher Thomond\/The Guardian<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not making any assumptions about where things go beyond the byelection, because there\u2019s lots of things that then come into play,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe public here gave us the clearest of messages in [the local elections in] May. They really are saying loudly now: \u2018Politics isn\u2019t working for us\u2019\u2026 If it doesn\u2019t change at this moment in time, how many steps away are we from becoming as polarised as the US?\u201d<\/p>\n Burnham said the \u201cshallowness\u201d of Westminster meant too many important issues had gone unresolved, and he had encountered \u201ca sadness\u201d on the doorstep at the lack of radical change.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to say something and then not do it, because this is part of what has dragged politics to this really low-faith position with the public.\u201d<\/p>\n He denied he had left himself little room for manoeuvre by saying he would stick to the fiscal rules.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, actually, the rules have freed up significant resource for public investment, and it\u2019s about using that money as productively as possible. It can be spent in different ways,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In Manchester, he has taken buses back into public control and halved fares from \u00a34 to \u00a32. Nationally, he said, he would reallocate \u00a339bn earmarked for social and affordable housing to social homes. There should be more fiscal devolution, he said, including allowing councils to levy a tourist tax.<\/p>\n Burham suggested replacing \u201ciniquitous\u201d council tax with a land value tax, and said public sector procurement should prioritise British industry.<\/p>\n He has attempted to cauterise his remarks<\/a> that politicians were \u201cin hock\u201d to the bond markets, saying they had been misinterpreted for political ends.<\/p>\n \u201cMy argument was always that politicians have left the country in hock. If you give up, as we did \u2026 the levers of control, you end up losing control of public spending and not able to get a productive, efficient state as a result,\u201d he said. \u201cMy argument is about kind of retaking that control, so that you can give yourself some headroom and not be always looking over your shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n Immigration comes up regularly on the doorstep in Makerfield. Burnham was supportive of Mahmood\u2019s controversial changes. \u201cI applaud the home secretary, actually, for the way in which she\u2019s faced up to some of the issues that need to be gripped.\u201d<\/p>\n He would not \u201cshy away\u201d from concerns over small boat crossings, he said. \u201cWe do need to consider further approaches to the issue that are perhaps more robust.\u201d<\/p>\n However, he added there had to be \u201cbalance\u201d in the system, with safe routes to the UK for refugees, and a route to work for people already in the country, so they could contribute to the economy rather than being \u201cleft in limbo\u201d for long periods.<\/p>\n A Labour government should put factionalism behind it and \u201cdraw on all parts\u201d of the movement to create a broad church, Burnham said, raising the prospect of him bringing leftwingers into ministerial jobs should he end up in power.<\/p>\n In an implicit criticism of Starmer\u2019s approach, he highlighted how Labour MPs had been stripped of the whip after voting against the party on policy issues, saying he had always tried to unify people instead.<\/p>\n \u201cThis joke that everyone tells about a Corbynite, a Blairite, a Brownite, going to a bar. I can laugh about it to a degree, but this is the point: it says more about the people who tell that joke than me, because it says they are factional.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always been a Labour politician that\u2019s about unifying people, trying to be positive and working together. That\u2019s my approach to politics. I think politics needs less division and less factionalism these days.\u201d<\/p>\n Burnham said some leftwingers, including Faiza Shaheen and Jamie Driscoll, should never have been kicked out of Labour but he drew a line at Corbyn, saying it had \u201cgone beyond\u201d the time he could be welcomed back.<\/p>\n Many inside Labour are uncomfortable with the shadow leadership campaign that appears to be taking place. But Burnham said: \u201cI didn\u2019t create what happened in Westminster after the local elections. I can\u2019t be held responsible for what goes on there.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, I do have to respond to what goes on, and if the PLP, as it would seem, want a change in direction, I\u2019ve got to respond to that.\u201d<\/p>\n Burnham at Platt Bridge community centre. Photograph: Christopher Thomond\/The Guardian<\/p>\n He last spoke to Starmer the Sunday before he was selected to fight Makerfield, adding that their relationship was respectful but they were honest with each other.<\/p>\n And he declined to answer questions from the Guardian about a change in leadership. \u201cWhat comes beyond the byelection, we\u2019ll face that if and when it comes. I don\u2019t want anyone to think anywhere in this constituency, that I think this is just easy.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople do want to get ahead of things, but I\u2019m not ahead of things. Sometimes it\u2019s weird, because I get asked about the speculation about general elections, appointments to cabinet \u2026 The weird thing for me is my headspace is nowhere near where they are. I\u2019m reading this stuff, my head is 100% on this byelection.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Burnham did appear to rule out holding a snap election should he make it to No 10. \u201cCalling a general election? I\u2019m sorry, I think there\u2019s a limit to how much time people want people to be on their doorsteps, isn\u2019t there?\u201d<\/p>\n He indicated that Josh Simons, the MP for Makerfield who stepped aside to make way for his run, and who is understood to be working on policy for him, could be part of any future team. \u201cThere\u2019s no guarantees,\u201d he said, but when asked if he would like to continue working with Simons, added: \u201cYeah, I would.\u201d<\/p>\n Burnham did not rule out trying to find another seat should he lose the byelection to Reform UK. He also suggested he would stay on as Greater Manchester<\/a> mayor. \u201cWhichever way people decide to vote, I would obviously work from the assumption that I would continue to see out my mayoral term, if things don\u2019t go as I hope.\u201d<\/p>\n Burnham shrugged off suggestions that Wes Streeting had been trying to corner him on rejoining the EU as a campaign tactic. \u201cThat would be to take political machinations too far, maybe,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve got a really clear position. Some people call it a U-turn. It isn\u2019t. I remain of the view I\u2019d like to see us rejoin in my lifetime. That doesn\u2019t mean you rerun the referendum now.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Andy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8640.jpg\")
Andy Burnham\u2019s bid to change Westminster | Politics Weekly<\/p>\n