Andy Burnham used his first major interview as prime minister to appeal to opposition leaders for help fixing social care, telling them: "Help me fix this" The Independent. The call for cross-party cooperation on one of Westminster's most intractable policy problems set the stage for a Downing Street summit scheduled for 30 July, with the leaders of the main opposition parties invited to attend.

Kemi Badenoch will not be there. The Conservative leader wrote to the prime minister the previous week asking him to rule out tax rises or increased borrowing to fund social care reform BBC News. A Conservative spokesman confirmed that "Andrew" would attend the social care talks in Badenoch's place, without specifying which Andrew — though the surname was not given.

The party's conditions for engagement were unambiguous. The same spokesman said the Conservatives were ready to work with Labour on social care measures provided they were not reliant on tax rises and borrowing. The spokesman also named Andy Burnham directly alongside Labour, saying: "Andy Burnham and Labour cannot rely on vague promises of reform without a clear plan for implementation" BBC News. Burnham, for his part, indicated two days earlier that he had not given up hope of finding "common ground" with the Tories on social care reform The Guardian.

Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, announced on X that he would attend the meeting by Zoom BBC News. Davey said he was in France with his family and has a disabled son who needs 24/7 care. He said his party had been pushing for cross-party talks on care for years, and noted there have been 22 failed attempts at reforming social care since 1997. Davey said he looked forward to meeting the prime minister the following day to begin social care talks.

The Liberal Democrats' social media operation struck a sharper tone in the days before the summit. The party's official Facebook page stated on 22 July: "Andy Burnham has a very short window to turn this government around" Liberal Democrats, Facebook.

Nigel Farage was not invited at all, and the Reform UK leader made his displeasure public. Farage complained that his party was excluded from the talks and accused the prime minister of "conspiring behind closed doors with the failed political establishment" BBC News. He said Andy Burnham had "chosen to ignore the party that led over 300 national opinion polls and represents thousands of councillors and millions of Britons across the country."

Green Party leader Zack Polanski was also not invited to the talks. Polanski, appearing on BBC Newsnight, said it was positive the prime minister was inviting opposition leaders at all BBC News.

The summit brings together a narrow cast of party leaders around a policy area that has defeated successive governments. Social care is devolved: the talks at Westminster concern the system in England, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each running their own provisions through Holyrood, the Senedd and Stormont respectively. Davey's figure of 22 failed attempts since 1997 spans administrations led by three prime ministers of different parties and underscores the political toxicity of the funding question — how to pay for rising care costs without either imposing new taxes or cutting spending elsewhere.

The Conservative red lines on tax and borrowing, set out before the meeting has even begun, narrow the space for a funding settlement considerably. If Badenoch's party holds to those conditions, any deal acceptable to the Tories would need to be funded from within existing departmental budgets or through unspecified efficiency savings. Burnham's "common ground" language suggests he believes a deal is possible, but the Tory letter asking him to rule out the two most obvious revenue streams was delivered before the first handshake.

The exclusion of Reform UK and the Greens from the table is also notable. Reform's polling position, as cited by Farage, gives the party a claim to representation that Downing Street has chosen not to recognise. Polanski's measured response, welcoming the principle of cross-party engagement while being left out of it, contrasts with Farage's more combative posture, but both leaders are outside the room. The question for Burnham is whether a deal negotiated without two of the four opposition parties represented in the Commons can hold politically, particularly if it involves any element of political risk for those who sign up.