Labour's party chair Bridget Phillipson has urged Kemi Badenoch to work with the government on plans for a National Care Service, arguing that older people deserve a lasting solution to the social care crisis.
In a statement issued on 2 October, Phillipson said Westminster had neglected the problem for too long, leaving people without the dignity and security they needed.
She said the Conservatives could "do better than just opposing for the sake of opposing" and called on Badenoch to "show some political courage".
Burnham's National Care Service plan
The appeal follows Prime Minister Andy Burnham's proposal to introduce a National Care Service in England in phases during the next Parliament, providing free personal care for older people based on need rather than ability to pay.
The proposed service would cover everyday assistance such as eating, bathing and using the toilet. It would not cover accommodation and food costs in care homes, where existing means-tested support would remain.
Baroness Louise Casey's independent commission is due to report in summer 2027 on how the service should be developed.
Pensions and the triple lock
Under the government's funding proposals, the existing state pension triple lock would remain until April 2030. Pensions would then rise annually by at least inflation or 2.5%, with an additional mechanism intended to maintain their value relative to earnings over time - a change from the current guarantee of the highest of inflation, earnings growth or 2.5%.
The Conservatives oppose that change and support retaining the existing triple lock. Labour has highlighted earlier doubts expressed by senior Conservatives, including Tom Tugendhat, who asked in the Commons in November 2025 whether it was "simply not affordable".
Those remarks do not alter the Conservatives' current position. Phillipson's argument is that funding pensions and care requires constructive engagement rather than a refusal to discuss reform.
