Andy Burnham has invited the leaders of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to work with him to address problems in social care.

On a visit to a care home, the PM said he is making the choice to fix the broken social care system by finding common ground across party lines to tackle the big issues.

Burnham said: "Last week I said we needed a different kind of politics: problem-solving, not point-scoring. Nowhere is that more urgent than social care.
 

"For decades, governments have kicked this issue down the road because they’ve seen it as too risky, too difficult, and too complicated.

"Politicians might have different views but I’m serious about fixing this issue and to do that, we have to find common ground and listen to others to find a way forward.

"It’s time to draw a line under people playing politics when the human cost of that means carers struggling, families paying the price and our NHS buckling under the strain.

"This comes down to a choice. We can carry on passing the problem to the next generation, or we can face it head on and work together to build a care system that gives people dignity, security and the support they deserve.

"This is about bringing back hope that we can finally fix the difficult issues that have been ignored for too long, and making Britain believe again.

"That’s why I’m making this choice and I’m prepared to put everything I’ve got behind it."

Also today, Baroness Louise Casey will launch the Big Conversation on Care, giving the public a chance to share their views and help shape the future of adult social care in England so that it is designed for the people it is there to serve. 

Baroness Casey of Blackstock said: "For too long, we have been stuck in the same cycle: crisis, promises of reform, another review, and then retreat, while the people who need care, and their families, bear the brunt.

"Fixing adult social care is about far more than money. People are already paying for failure through council tax, pressure on the NHS, their savings, giving up work, and the forced sale of their homes. The choice is whether we keep putting money into a system that is unfair, unpredictable and broken, or have an honest conversation about how to build something better.

"That is why we need a public conversation on care that tackles the tough questions. It’s only by facing up to this problem together that we can fix social care once and for all."