Kemi Badenoch has urged the prime minister to rule out tax rises and extra borrowing for social care reform, while offering cross-party talks.
Kemi Badenoch has put the social care reform debate back at the center of British politics, telling the prime minister he should rule out both tax rises and extra borrowing to pay for changes. In a letter sent on Sunday, the Conservative leader said she was willing to work with him on a solution, but only if it follows what she called her party’s two core principles.
Those principles are straightforward: any reform should be paid for by cutting existing spending rather than increasing taxes, and it should be fair to people who have saved and made provisions over their lives. Badenoch said she hoped the parties could find common ground on an issue she described as hugely important, but she also warned that previous attempts to build a lasting consensus on social care had not been easy.
Her message was aimed at Andy Burnham, who is expected to make a speech on adult social care this week. A No 10 source said the speech fits with his effort to “run towards problems that have been neglected.” Burnham has already been linked to wider pledges on social care, youth unemployment and devolution, and his position on the issue has drawn fresh attention as he prepares to set out his thinking in public.
In her letter, Badenoch argued that any plan must protect people who have saved for later life and must not leave the next generation with the bill. She said Burnham should rule out tax rises and additional borrowing, adding that businesses are closing or moving, youth unemployment is higher than in the eurozone, and many people are already under strain from the cost of living. Her warning was clear: she does not want social care reform financed through another burden on taxpayers.
“Kemi Badenoch has urged the prime minister to rule out tax rises and extra borrowing for social care reform, while offering cross-party talks.”
The social care reform fight has been running for years, and the history explains why the issue keeps resurfacing. Burnham first proposed a universal system of social care in England in 2009, when he was health secretary under Gordon Brown. He has since said he would spend political capital on the issue if he becomes prime minister. That backdrop matters because social care has become one of those stubborn political problems that parties keep promising to fix, yet never fully resolve.
Recent history only sharpens that point. In 2019, Boris Johnson said in his first speech as prime minister that the Conservative Party would fix the crisis in social care once and for all. Then in July 2024, Sir Keir Starmer came under criticism after Labour scrapped plans for an £86,000 cap on what anyone in England would pay for personal care over their lifetime. The pattern is familiar: leaders promise action, then run into the same cost and fairness disputes.
Other opposition voices are also pressing for movement. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who has long pushed for social care reform, said on Saturday that the moment should mark the start of a real effort to end what he called the social care catastrophe. He also said family carers must not be forgotten and called for a cross-party consensus, while Burnham replied on X that the door was open and that they should work together to find common ground.
For American readers, this dispute is a reminder that social care is not just a budget line but a test of whether leaders can pay for long-term obligations without pushing more of the cost onto working families and future taxpayers. The next move now belongs to Burnham, whose speech will show whether he is ready to build that consensus or deepen the fight over who should pay for it.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kemi Badenoch asking the prime minister to do?
She wants him to rule out both tax rises and extra borrowing to pay for social care reform. She says any solution should instead come from cutting existing spending.
What conditions does Badenoch say any social care plan must meet?
She says reform should be fair to people who have saved and made provisions over their lives. She also says it should not leave the next generation with the bill.
Why is Andy Burnham central to this debate?
Burnham is expected to make a speech on adult social care this week, and Badenoch’s letter was aimed at him. He first proposed a universal system of social care in England in 2009 and has said he would spend political capital on the issue if he becomes prime minister.
Have other political leaders tried to solve social care before?
Yes. The article says Boris Johnson promised in 2019 to fix the crisis in social care, and Sir Keir Starmer faced criticism in July 2024 after Labour scrapped an £86,000 cap on personal care costs.
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