UK leader Burnham adjusts pension guarantee to fund new National Care Service

The prime minister acknowledged the political risk of weakening pension protections, saying he was willing to “pay a political price” to fund his proposed National Care Service.LIVERPOOL, England (CN) — Prime Minister Andy Burnham told Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool on Tuesday that Britain will adjust its state pension guarantee after 2030 to help fund a new National Care Service, one part of a broader plan for change he unveiled to delegates.The triple lock, introduced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in 2010, guarantees that the state pension rises each year by whichever is highest of inflation, average earnings growth or 2.5%.It will remain in place for the rest of the current Parliament, Burnham said.After the next general election, the pension will instead rise each year by whichever is higher of inflation or 2.5%, removing the link to average earnings growth.The change will generate “significant savings,” Burnham said, which will be used to build a National Care Service providing care free at the point of use.He said the service would not be funded through government borrowing.“I accept I may pay a political price but someone has to go through the pain barrier and rip the plaster off,” Burnham told the conference in Liverpool.Burnham said the National Care Service would start with care in people’s homes and protect homes and savings from care charges.He said it would also improve pay and conditions for care workers and reduce pressure on the National Health Service by cutting ambulance callouts and hospital stays for people who need care.He said a review led by Louise Casey, a senior public policy adviser, would shape the details before the service is introduced in the next Parliament.Burnham also promised that low-income pensioners would not be brought into income tax during the current Parliament.Burnham promises greater public control of housing, water and energyThe pension announcement came as Burnham laid out a broader program aimed at increasing public control over housing, water and energy.He pledged the biggest council housebuilding program since the 1970s, using unused public land, and said councils would gain powers to bring empty homes back into public housing.On water, Burnham said Angela Eagle, the minister responsible for the bill, would introduce legislation repealing a ban on public ownership of water companies dating from the Thatcher era.The legislation would give mayors greater powers over water companies and close loopholes that Burnham said allowed excessive bonuses.He also said the government would consider taking water companies into public ownership where they fail to serve the public interest.Burnham said VAT would be removed from electricity bills from Thursday as part of an effort to lower household energy costs, which are among the highest in Europe. The government previously announced that VAT on domestic electricity in Great Britain would fall from 5% to zero beginning Oct. 1.But he also stressed the limits on government spending, saying he would follow fiscal rules aimed at reducing borrowing and debt.The prime minister said his approach would seek to reduce welfare spending by helping more people into work rather than through what he called “crude cuts.”On Monday, Chancellor John Healey used his conference speech to promise a new period of industrial investment, including new contracts for British shipyards and a program to help young people find apprenticeships. He also announced the return of a fund for worker training.Healey said fiscal discipline would remain central to his first budget, due Oct. 28.Burnham backs electoral reform and closer EU tiesBurnham also announced plans for a national commission on electoral reform.He said Labour would campaign at the next general election on changing the voting system to proportional representation, under which seats in Parliament are allocated more closely to parties’ share of the vote.He said Britain also needed a different long-term relationship with the European Union, saying Brexit had “done more harm than good.”Burnham said he would use a forthcoming U.K.-EU summit to set out options for closer cooperation and seek a consensus around a future relationship.Near the end of his speech, Burnham became emotional while discussing his father, who died on Sept. 18.He said his father had been too ill to understand that his son had become prime minister.Burnham linked his father’s illness to his plans for social care, saying he wanted to honor his memory by creating a system in which families would not face the financial uncertainty of paying for care in later life.The National Care Service became the central promise of Burnham’s speech, with its proposed funding tied in part to changes to the state pension guarantee.The change would affect the formula used to determine future state pension increases, while the triple lock will remain in place through the current Parliament.The speech came during Britain’s annual party conference season.The centrist Liberal Democrats held their conference in Brighton last week, while the Green Party and Conservative Party are due to hold their conferences in early October.Courthouse News reporter James Francis Whitehead is based in England.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads