Merlin Court Care Home in Marlborough, Wiltshire. The prime minister called his planned National Care Service "as significant as the creation of the NHS itself". Image: Avery Healthcare via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Representative image.

Burnham Promises National Care Service Free at Point of Use, Paid For by Triple-Lock Reform

Andy Burnham used his first speech as Labour leader to promise the biggest shake-up of social care in the history of the welfare state. A National Care Service, free at the point of use and paid for by reforming the state pension triple lock, will be the centrepiece of Labour's next election manifesto, the prime minister told the party's conference in Liverpool on Tuesday.

The speech also unveiled a strengthened Water Bill that would repeal Margaret Thatcher's ban on public ownership of water companies, new powers for councils to seize empty homes from failing landlords, and the clearest signal yet that Burnham wants to rebuild ties with the European Union.

Key facts

• The proposed National Care Service would be free at the point of use, like the NHS, with no care charges taken out of people's basic state pension. Burnham called it "a landmark policy, as significant as the creation of the NHS itself".
• The state pension triple lock would be changed from April 2030, after the next general election: pensions would rise each year by at least inflation or 2.5%, but the link to average earnings would be replaced by a guarantee to hold value "relative to earnings over time".
• Labour says the change would save £15 billion a year by the end of the 2030s, rising to £50 billion a year by 2050. The Institute for Fiscal Studies says the savings are likely to be much smaller at first.
• A strengthened Water Bill, to be presented by Environment Secretary Angela Eagle, would repeal the ban on public ownership of water companies and give mayors new powers over firms that repeatedly fail.
• Councils would get powers to take control of empty and substandard homes, and Burnham left open the door to Britain eventually rejoining the EU, saying "Brexit has done more harm than good".

The care service promise

Social care was the emotional heart of the speech. Burnham recalled his grandmother Kitty's engagement ring being stolen in a care home and spoke of his father Roy, who died recently after suffering from dementia. He apologised directly to care workers, telling them: "I see you, I thank you and I am sorry that my profession has let down yours for so long."

The planned service would be "a person-centred, high-quality care service that starts in the home", where "everyone contributes and everyone is covered". It would protect family savings and homes, give proper recognition to care workers, and take pressure off an NHS that Burnham said was buckling under the strain. "Broken social care will break the NHS too," he said, describing hospital corridor care as the daily reality for staff.

Burnham said the government would "start laying the ground now" for the service, guided by the findings of Baroness Louise Casey's independent review, which has been asked to report by summer 2027. The service itself would be introduced in the next parliament, meaning after the next general election, which must be held by mid-2029.

"I accept I may pay a political price," he told delegates. "But someone has to go through the pain barrier and rip the plaster off."

Paying for it: the triple lock change

The most politically risky part of the announcement was the funding. Under the triple lock, the state pension rises each year by the highest of price inflation, average earnings growth or 2.5%. Burnham said the lock would be kept unchanged through the current parliament, honouring Labour's 2024 manifesto, to "take the state pension to a record high". Low-income pensioners would also pay no income tax during this parliament.

But if Labour wins the next election, from April 2030 the earnings link would go. Pensions would still rise every year, by at least inflation or 2.5%, and would maintain their value relative to earnings over time, "so that pensioners will always share in the rising prosperity of the nation".

The savings, Burnham argued, would be "significant" and would help build the care service. Labour put the figure at £15 billion a year by the end of the 2030s, rising to £50 billion a year by 2050.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies was sceptical about the early years. It said the savings would likely be much smaller at first and hard to predict, though they would compound over time. As an illustration, the IFS said that if the reform had been in force since 2011, state pension spending would now be £9 billion lower, more than halving the £16 billion-a-year cost of the ratchet. It also warned the savings alone would not fund an NHS-style care service, raising the prospect of tax rises or spending cuts.

A rough reception in prospect

Burnham knows the politics are treacherous. A BMG Research poll for The i newspaper, conducted before the speech, found 53% of Britons support keeping the triple lock, with only 13% in favour of scrapping it. Both the Conservatives and Reform UK have pledged to keep it.

The unions are uneasy too. Sharon Graham, the leader of Unite, told the BBC she would prefer a wealth tax, while Green leader Zack Polanski asked why the government was "going after pensioners" instead of taxing the rich. Burnham's defence is that pensioners would get a state pension that rises every year and face no care charges.

Water: public ownership back on the table

The speech's other headline domestic announcement was a strengthened Water Bill. The Bill's centrepiece, Burnham said, would be the repeal of what he called Margaret Thatcher's "ideological ban" on public ownership of water companies, starting a 10-year journey to "a very different water system".

Mayors would gain new powers to hold failing companies to account, with tougher consequences for those that repeatedly fail, and the loopholes used to pay excessive bonuses would be closed. "Where private companies serve the public interest, we will support them," Burnham said. "But the consequences will be clear for those who do not, including taking back control or ownership."

The announcement lands as Thames Water, the country's biggest supplier, warns it only has enough money to last until the end of the year. Lenders have put forward a £10 billion rescue takeover, and the government has confirmed that a special administration regime, effectively temporary nationalisation, remains under review.

Empty homes crackdown

Burnham also turned his fire on landlords, announcing that councils would get the power to take control of poor-quality homes if owners refuse to improve them. "Go to almost any town across Britain, and you will see plenty of empty homes," he said. "We will give councils the power to take control of them and bring them back into the public housing stock." The crackdown sits alongside his promise of a big council-house building programme, which he said would save "billions from the housing benefit budget over the decade".

Europe: the door opens

On foreign policy, Burnham said he wanted to "find a consensus" on a long-term relationship with the EU, Britain's largest trading partner, building on what he called "some progress" under his predecessor Keir Starmer. He told the conference that "Brexit has done more harm than good", and promised to set out options at a summit later this year.

Burnham has previously said he wants Britain to rejoin the EU in his lifetime, and the options could include a customs union, the single market or even EU membership. Any move in that direction is certain to draw fire from the Conservatives and Reform UK.

The speech also confirmed the commitment, covered separately on this site, to scrap first-past-the-post for proportional representation at the next election. Read our report on the electoral reform pledge.

Known vs unknown

What is confirmed: the shape of the care service promise, the triple-lock reform timetable, the Water Bill's core measures, the empty-homes powers and the EU summit plan. What is not yet known: how exactly the care service would be funded beyond the pension savings, what model it would follow, and whether the sums will add up without further tax rises. The Casey review, due by summer 2027, is meant to answer the design questions.

What happens next

Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper is due to address the conference later this week, and is expected to flesh out the care service plans. Angela Eagle will present the strengthened Water Bill to Parliament. The pension changes cannot happen before the next election, so the triple-lock fight will now run through the rest of this parliament and into the campaign.

Conclusion

This was the defining speech of Burnham's young premiership, and a deliberate gamble. By promising a care service to rank alongside the NHS, and paying for it with the most politically sensitive benefit in British politics, he has set the terms of the next election years before it must be held. Whether voters thank him for "ripping the plaster off" or punish him for touching their pensions will decide how this conference is remembered.

Sources

• Reuters, "UK's Burnham pledges action on social care, EU relations in conference speech", 29 September 2026: reuters.com
• Reuters, "UK's Burnham says pension triple lock to be adjusted in 2030", 29 September 2026: reuters.com
• Reuters, "Why is Burnham unwinding the UK's 'triple lock' state pension pledge?", 29 September 2026: reuters.com
• The Times, "Andy Burnham's conference speech: the key takeaways", 29 September 2026: thetimes.com
• Nursing Times, "PM announces national care service to help 'let-down' NHS staff", 29 September 2026: nursingtimes.net
• Alliance News via Morningstar, "UK PM announces new law to allow public ownership of water firms", 29 September 2026: morningstar.com