I’m a little nervous about going to Auschwitz but I’ve been putting it off since the 1970’s
Points from Andy Burnham’s speech at the Labour Party Conference 2026
In his keynote address to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Andy Burnham outlined a series of policy shifts aimed at tackling longstanding domestic issues:
- Creation of a National Care Service: Pledged a fully funded, NHS-style care service that is free at the point of use. He emphasized that funding would not come from borrowing and directly addressed care workers, acknowledging their undervaluation and promising significant systemic reforms.
- Scrapping the Pensions Triple Lock: Confirmed plans to abandon the state pension triple lock after the election to help finance social care, acknowledging the political risk (“ripping off the plaster”) while ensuring low-income pensioners will not pay income tax.
- Public Control of Water and Utilities: Vowed to introduce legislation repealing restrictions on public ownership of water companies, describing the current privatized water sector as broken, and giving local authorities greater oversight and powers to restrict executive bonuses.
- “Great British Grid”: Announced a publicly owned grid operator under the Great British Energy umbrella to challenge private operators, cut grid connection wait times, and drive down energy costs within a decade.
- Electoral Reform: Committed to establishing a commission on Proportional Representation (PR) and guaranteeing that PR will be included in Labour’s next general election manifesto.
- Housing and Landlord Enforcement: Proposed new powers enabling local councils to take over poor-quality, substandard rental housing if landlords refuse to bring properties up to acceptable health standards.
- Relations with the EU: Stated that Brexit has done “more harm than good” and pledged to pursue a deeper, long-term consensus-based relationship with the European Union.
Andy Burnham’s proposals center on establishing an NHS-style universal care system funded through structural reform of state pension indexation.
The National Care Service (NCS)
Burnham framed the creation of a National Care Service as a historic shift on par with the founding of the NHS in 1948:
- Free at the Point of Use: A universal social care system for England where care charges are removed from the basic state pension, guaranteeing that older people living on low or fixed incomes will no longer face care fees deducted from their pension payments.
- Home-First Model: The service is designed to start in the home, prioritizing community-based, independent living support to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations and residential admissions.
- Universal Contribution Principle: Positioned as a collective system “where everyone contributes and everyone is covered”.
- Workforce Elevation: Directly addressing care workers, Burnham pledged systematic pay and conditions reforms to end the sector’s chronic undervaluation and stabilize retention.
- Strict Fiscal Constraint: He explicitly committed that social care reform would not be funded through government borrowing, necessitating a reallocation of baseline state expenditures.
Pension Triple Lock & Tax Changes
To finance the National Care Service sustainably without debt, Burnham outlined a two-phase transition for state pensions:
| Element | Current Parliament | From April 2030 (Next Parliament) |
| Indexation Formula | Triple Lock Maintained Honours the existing manifesto pledge; pension rises by whichever is highest: CPI, average wages, or 2.5%. | Double Lock / Floating Adjustment Removes the wage-growth ratchet; pensions will rise by whichever is higher: CPI inflation or 2.5%. |
| Earnings Alignment | N/A | Pegged to hold value “relative to earnings over time” rather than matching wage growth in individual high-wage years. |
| Tax Protection | Income Tax Exemption Guarantees that low-income pensioners will not pay income tax during this Parliament. | Baseline protected to ensure basic state pension income is not eroded by care costs. |
| Fiscal Objective | Brings state pension baseline to a record high before transition. | Unlocks multi-billion-pound recurring savings to establish dedicated social care funding. |
Acknowledging the political controversy, Burnham described altering the triple lock as “ripping off the plaster,” arguing that long-term intergenerational fairness and a sustainable social care safety net require confronting the issue directly rather than postponing it.
Andy Burnham framed the creation of a National Care Service and the overhaul of the pensions triple lock as two halves of a single, long-term social settlement.
1. The National Care Service (NCS)
Burnham described a universal care service as a landmark reform on par with the 1948 establishment of the National Health Service:
- Free at the Point of Use: Conceived as an English universal service where social care is provided free at the point of delivery, eliminating catastrophic individual care costs.
- Ending Pension Deductions for Care: Burnham pointed out that older people surviving solely or predominantly on the basic state pension often see parts of that income docked for local authority care charges. Under his plan, care fees will be removed from basic state pension incomes entirely.
- Home-First Community Model: The service is designed to start in the home rather than residential institutions, focusing on independent community-based living to relieve downstream pressure on NHS hospital beds.
- Universal Contribution Principle: Positioned as a shared national contract where “everyone contributes and everyone is covered,” moving away from fragmented, means-tested local provision.
- Workforce Respect and Standards: Speaking directly to social care workers, Burnham apologized on behalf of his political generation for decades of neglect, committing to systematic improvements in pay, recognition, and employment conditions.
- No Borrowing for Operational Costs: Burnham explicitly pledged that day-to-day funding for the service would not be financed through government borrowing, necessitating baseline structural reallocations.
2. State Pension Indexation and the Triple Lock
To create a sustainable, recurring revenue stream for social care without adding to the national debt, Burnham announced a two-phase roadmap for state pensions:
| Phase | Timeline | Policy Mechanism |
| Phase 1: Current Parliament | Present to 2029/2030 | Triple lock honoured in full. State pensions will continue to rise by the highest of CPI inflation, average earnings growth, or 2.5%, taking the baseline pension to a record high by the end of the term. |
| Phase 2: Post-2030 Transition | Beginning April 2030 | Adjustment to a modified guarantee. The formal earnings-ratchet element of the triple lock will be removed. Pensions will rise annually by at least CPI inflation or 2.5%, while being pegged to hold their value “relative to earnings over time” rather than tracking high single-year wage spikes. |
Burnham acknowledged the high political risk of touching the triple lock, describing it as “ripping off the plaster” to resolve an issue that previous governments avoided. The rationale presented is that establishing a permanent social care safety net offers greater financial security to older Britons than an unrestrained triple lock that crowds out public services.
Thoughts on losing a mum
Thinking of you so much during this tender time.
Watching the devotion and tenderness you showed your mum in her final days was truly moving. Bringing her home so she could make that journey surrounded by your love speaks volumes about the man you are and the bond you shared. You walked her home in the truest sense of the phrase.
Holding you in my thoughts as you navigate this loss. I’m here whenever you need a quiet ear or a cup of tea.
You know who you are. Thoughts from your big brother.
My friend, Anthony
True courage rarely announces itself with noise. It does not need to roar to be felt. Sometimes, the most profound bravery exists in the quiet spaces—in the steady, resolute spirit of a person who looks life’s hardest trials in the eye and refuses to be broken. That is the kind of courage Anthony carries.
When cancer struck his throat and the surgery took his voice box, it demanded a price that few could fathom. The voice is how we reach out to the world, how we laugh aloud, how we share our warmth, and how we make our presence known. To have that stripped away, and to endure months of forced silence while bearing the heavy physical consequences of healing, is an ordeal that would shake anyone to their core.
Yet Anthony did not let the silence define him. Instead, he filled it with grace, patience, and an unshakable positivity that speaks louder than words ever could.
His strength is not found in an absence of pain, but in his choice to keep moving forward despite it. It is seen in the light that remains in his eyes, the warmth that radiates in his gestures, and the quiet determination to embrace each new day. He reminds everyone around him that a person’s true voice was never just sound waves traveling through the air—it is their character, their kindness, their humor, and their resilience.
Anthony has proven that life can take away your vocal cords, but it cannot take away your spirit. He stands as a living testament to endurance, showing us all what it means to face the unimaginable with dignity, heart, and true grit. To know Anthony is to witness what real strength looks like, and his courage leaves an unforgettable mark on every life he touches.
I worked with him for several years. He helped me out when I came back from Australia. He gave me somewhere to stay. Working with him was a hard lesson but an interesting ride.
A brief period
I just wrapped up a week of working enrollment at Easton College, and if you’ve ever worked one of these gigs, you know the specific, chaotic rhythm of the whole thing.
Enrollment week exists in two distinct modes: absolute, all-hands-on-deck frenzy, or the kind of vast, stretching boredom where you start memorizing the emergency exit signs. There is no middle ground. One minute you’re a well-oiled machine churning through course codes, identity checks, and photo queues for nervous freshers, and the next you’re sitting in total silence waiting for the next busload of students to appear.
What made the week actually fly by, though, was the crew. I was stationed with Debs, Gary, and Chloe—a 17-year-old student helping out on the front lines. Having Chloe on the team was gold because she brought the real, unfiltered student perspective to the desk, while Debs, Gary, and I tried to keep the logistical wheels turning without losing the plot.
It’s always an odd mix of human connection and admin endurance. You meet hundreds of faces in seven days—some terrified, some overconfident, some parents who look far more stressed than their kids—and in between, you bond with your desk mates over strong tea and the shared relief when the 4 PM slump finally ends.
Glad to have survived the week, grateful for the good company, and very ready for a weekend off.
A thought for Valerie
I’ve been thinking lately about the quiet, steady magic of how you love me. In the rush of everyday life, it is easy to let the most important truths go unspoken, but I want to make sure you know just how deeply I see and appreciate who you are.
Your patience with me is nothing short of a grace. There are days when I am preoccupied, difficult, or simply a handful, yet you meet me with an enduring kindness that never seems to waver. You don’t just tolerate my quirks and shortcomings—you soften them. You create a space where I can be entirely myself, safe in the knowledge that I am accepted, understood, and loved, even on my hardest days.
That kind of gentleness isn’t accidental; it’s a profound strength. You have a way of bringing calm to the noise and warmth to the ordinary moments. Living alongside someone with such a generous heart makes life infinitely richer, and it grounds me in a way I could never replicate on my own.
Thank you for your steady hand, your boundless understanding, and the quiet sacrifices you make just by choosing grace over frustration, time and time again. I don’t take a single bit of your patience for granted, and I am endlessly grateful to walk through this life with you.
With all my love and deepest gratitude,
It’s been a while.
Today I made sourdough for the first time in actually quite a few years. I haven’t been eating much bread, but this morning we didn’t have any, so I thought, “Okay, I’ll see if I can actually remember how to do it.” Below you’ll find a picture of my first white seeded sourdough.
Working at the reception of Eastern College
Yesterday was the first day of a brief work sojourn at Eastern College. I was reunited with two people who I had worked with last year: Gary Sparks and Deborah McCluskey.
It’s a relatively easy job. I have to greet people as they come into the foyer and invite them to enrol for whatever course they book themselves onto. To do this, they have a letter of invitation to enrol from the college, and on that is a student number, which enables me to find all their details.
A lot of the time, there is nothing to do, but then we have spurts of activity with people queuing to enrol, and there is a feeling of pressure.
A 75th birthday
Thank you to Paul and Gilly, David and Ruth, Archie and Meheli, and of course Valerie for the fantastic 75th birthday dinner. They say age is just a number, but celebrating with great friends makes the higher numbers a lot easier to swallow! Cheers to you all.
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