In an effort to tackle the desperately flawed and politically neglected social care sector, the new PM is calling on his opponents to work together in the public interest. But can they put aside partisan politics for the common good?
Care sector in crisis
Over recent years, the social care sector has been stripped of financial resources, most especially during the “Austerity Decade” (2010–2020). According to the Institute for Government, “the adult social care sector has been neglected by successive governments”, and whilst spending has started to rise again (currently approaching £30bn), the sector continues to face intense demographic and cost pressures. Add to that the exodus of trained EU staff and the barriers to future immigration that Brexit has added, and the sector is clearly in crisis.
Doing politics differently
In an era when political posturing has resulted in division rather than collaboration, Andy Burnham’s call for cooperation might seem like a big ask. When the topic for reform is social care – a subject that has been put on the back burner by successive governments for years – maybe it’s time for a rethink, in the interests of the country.
In response to the prime minister’s call for political consensus, Ed Davey, leader of the LibDems stated that “we need to do politics differently”, adding that his door is open “if Andy Burnham is serious about cross-party working”.
The response from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was rather more reserved and conditional. In a post on Facebook, Badenoch said that “a new system has to be fair to those who have saved”, adding that any reforms must be funded “by reducing current spending” and not by “more taxes or more borrowing”.
Political collaboration is not new
Although former cross-party collaborations have tended to come about during national emergencies or crises – such as the Second World War or the pandemic – there are current examples of political parties working together in parliament.
Select committees have always included members of various parties, as have All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs). Ad-hoc commissions and inquiries have also favoured joint teams, in some cases from both Houses, with the aim of solving long-term complex issues outside of short-term party squabbles.
Then there’s the Conservative–LibDem coalition government of 2010–2015. But perhaps that’s not the best example of different parties working together for the common good!
The way forward
Despite a large parliamentary majority, the last Labour government failed to deliver many of the changes that the country was promised. After climbdowns, U-turns and abandoned policy pledges, Keir Starmer lost the support of his party and the country. But his action on social care – the acceleration of the Casey Commission review – was a welcome recognition of the sector’s many issues.
The new PM has hit the ground running, and Labour is now ahead of Reform for the first time in over a year. Andy Burnham, with his apparent willingness to tackle social care head-on, has reached out to other parties for help and support. Could a topic as emotive and ubiquitous as social care, and so in need of political assistance, be the tipping point to a more collaborative approach in Westminster?
The Electoral Reform Society says that in Andy Burnham, we have the first prime minister to openly back proportional representation. Unlike the undemocratic first-past-the-post voting system, which regularly delivers parliamentary majorities to parties with less than half the vote, proportional systems rarely give one party an outright majority.
That means parties generally have to negotiate and work together to form a government, as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats did after the hung parliament of 2010. Collaboration and compromise become necessities rather than choices. Whether our political parties are ready for that kind of politics remains to be seen.
Perhaps working together to reform social care is a good place to put that collaborative approach to the test. It might also reveal which parties are really willing to work in the best interests of the country – and which are not.
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