Andy Burnham has invited Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey to a Downing Street summit to seek cross-party agreement on fixing England's social care system, framing it as a test of "problem-solving, not point-scoring" politics. The prime minister argues that decades of governments avoiding the issue have left carers struggling, families paying the price and the NHS under mounting strain, and he wants to draw a line under the political point-scoring that has previously derailed reform attempts.

The summit takes place amid pressure on the wider public finances, with the government already facing questions over how to fund £2bn of pledges including scrapping VAT on energy bills and capping bus fares, alongside a forecast that inflation could near 4 per cent next year and a defence funding gap of £5bn to £18bn. Sir Ed has said the Lib Dems are willing to work with Burnham, while Badenoch has offered cooperation but ruled out backing tax rises; Reform UK, not invited to the talks, has pre-emptively accused Burnham of reviving the "death tax" policy he proposed as health secretary in 2009, a claim Downing Street has denied.