Andy Burnham’s focus on social care reform was a refreshing change but can he convince the public that his approach is right?

Andy Burnham’s first Labour Party conference as leader will go down as having put social care at the centre of the political agenda. For too long campaigners for social care reform have long argued for the issue just to be given the due attention that it deserves.

It wasn’t just vague rhetoric, offering to reform social care. The PM went further as to finally tackling the conundrum as to how it would be paid for. Yet Burnham now faces the fight to win hearts and minds. He must convince the electorate that he is on the right track.

There will be some who argue that the axing of the triple lock is an attack on pensions. In The Saturday Essay today, Sarah Todd describes eloquently how it can be seen as another example of older people becoming the forgotten generation. While also writing in today’s newspaper, David Behrens talks about the hope that reform of social care and pensions could give to an aging population.

The reality is that Britain cannot continue on the path that it is currently on. With an aging population and the NHS in a perennial state of crisis, social care is an issue that can no longer be ignored. What is meant to be the back door to the NHS needs to be fixed so that an already bloated health service doesn’t collapse under the weight of its own cost. There needs to be symbiosis between the NHS and a National Care Service. If the Prime Minister fails to successfully argue that ditching the triple lock to get a National Care Service up and running is the right thing to do, it could set social care reform back.