Andy Burnham has politely asked the assisted dying debate to take a number, as he unveiled his master plan to fix the UK's social care system - one of those problems that has been 'intractable' for so long it's practically a national sport.

The prime minister, who is not opposed to discussing assisted dying in principle, told reporters it would be 'very challenging' to introduce the legislation while the care system is still a dumpster fire. He made these remarks during a speech at a north London care home, where he declared himself ready to spend his political capital on social care reform - presumably the only currency that's accepted in such establishments.

Burnham, who as Greater Manchester mayor said he'd probably vote for a private member's bill on assisted dying, now thinks the priority should be improving end-of-life support. This caution might give some Labour MPs pause when the latest version of the bill - which has divided backbenches across party lines - comes up for a vote in September.

'I take the view that that debate - and I don't say that there shouldn't be a debate at some point about those issues - personally, I think there's something that needs to happen first,' he said. 'That is the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care. I think it is very challenging to introduce that wider debate in a context of people not receiving that care and having the peace of mind about that care.'

Burnham abstained from a 2015 vote on assisted dying due to concerns over safeguards, but his father Roy's dementia experience changed his view by 2024. 'I think we do allow people to suffer and families to suffer too much,' he said, though he caveated his support by insisting hospices be 'properly funded and sorted out' first.

On the funding front, Burnham hinted that tax rises might be necessary - though he promised to stick to Labour's manifesto on tax for this parliament. 'I think more is possible from within existing resources,' he said, before adding that 'some of what we would want to do in the fullest sense will require difficult decisions.' He'll put those decisions before the country 'at the right time,' presumably when nobody is looking.

Burnham noted that life has 'moved on' since his 2010 attempt at social care reform - which included a 10% inheritance levy - and suggested a 'more voluntary approach' might work better now. He's invited the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats for talks at Downing Street, accepting he may need to compromise. 'We are in a difficult world from a financial point of view,' he said. 'If I want to persuade others and get a cross-party consensus, you don't just go in and say: 'It's got to be my way, and that's it.''

Burnham added that in an ideal world, nobody would have to sell their home to pay for care. 'I think the whole thing is horrendous for those who live through it. They see everything that their parents have worked for just whittled away in front of them, paying for care that often isn't good enough.'

He also announced that Louise Casey will bring forward her independent review into social care options by a year, to summer 2027, and that a fair pay agreement for care staff will start bringing the sector closer to NHS standards. Yvette Cooper, the new health secretary, will appoint a dementia tsar this summer - because nothing says 'we're serious about this' like a tsar.