Andy Burnham used his first major interview as prime minister to ask opposition leaders for help fixing social care, telling them: "Help me fix this" The Independent. Social care means the system that helps older and disabled people with everyday tasks like washing, dressing and eating, either in care homes or in their own homes. Burnham invited the leaders of the main opposition parties to a meeting at Downing Street on 30 July to talk about how to fix it.

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

The party's conditions were clear. 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, 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 round-the-clock 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 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.

One important detail: social care is devolved, meaning the Westminster talks only cover England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each run their own systems through their own parliaments — Holyrood in Scotland, the Senedd in Wales, and Stormont in Northern Ireland. Davey's figure of 22 failed attempts since 1997 spans governments led by three prime ministers of different parties. The core problem is how to pay for rising care costs without either imposing new taxes or cutting spending elsewhere.

The broader context here is that the Conservative Party's refusal to consider tax rises or borrowing, set out before the meeting has even begun, makes a funding agreement much harder to reach. If Badenoch's party sticks to those conditions, any deal the Tories could accept would need to be funded from within existing government budgets or through unspecified 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 ways of raising money arrived before the first handshake.

The exclusion of Reform UK and the Greens also matters. Reform's strong position in the polls, as cited by Farage, gives the party an argument for a seat at the table that Downing Street has chosen not to accept. Polanski's calm response — welcoming the idea of parties working together, even while being left out — contrasts with Farage's more combative approach. But both leaders are outside the room. The question for Burnham is whether a deal negotiated without two of the four opposition parties in the House of Commons can hold, especially if it involves any political risk for those who agree to it.