Andy Burnham has backed the introduction of a "death tax" to fund social care within hours of becoming Prime Minister, citing his father's experience with Alzheimer's disease as evidence that the current system is "broken". The proposal would see levies taken from estates after death to help pay for the spiralling costs of social care, a policy area successive governments have struggled to reform. The move signals an early and potentially divisive policy direction from Burnham's premiership, coming amid a wider reshuffle as he begins forming his Cabinet.

The announcement came alongside sweeping Cabinet changes, with Rachel Reeves sacked along with Starmer loyalists David Lammy, Steve Reed and Peter Kyle, while Lord Timpson resigned as prisons minister. In his first speech as Prime Minister, Burnham pledged to "be better" than Keir Starmer and hinted at a leftward shift in direction, though critics, including commentator Quentin Letts, noted he offered little concrete policy detail beyond rhetoric.