Andy Burnham, the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester, is set to host cross-party talks on reforming social care, but the effort has been undermined by scheduling problems and a deliberate exclusion. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey are both unable to attend after reportedly being given only 18 hours' notice of the meeting, raising questions about how seriously the talks have been organised and how genuinely cross-party they are. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, meanwhile, was not invited at all, a decision likely to fuel further criticism that the process is being managed to sideline his party.

Social care reform has long been a politically fraught issue in the UK, with successive governments struggling to secure lasting cross-party consensus on funding and provision. Burnham has positioned himself as a prominent voice on the topic, and convening leaders from rival parties was intended to signal a serious, collaborative approach. However, the short notice given to Badenoch and Davey, and the exclusion of Farage, threaten to overshadow the substance of the talks and invite accusations of political point-scoring rather than genuine consensus-building.