Andy Burnham

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, has pledged to make social care reform the central issue of his campaign at the next UK election. The announcement puts a renewed spotlight on Britain's long-unresolved crisis in funding and providing adult social care, an issue successive governments have promised but failed to fix.

Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, has been warned that he cannot wait until the next general election to begin the process of rejoining the European Union. The message reflects growing impatience among pro-EU voices who argue the groundwork for closer ties with Brussels must start now rather than be deferred until after the next election.

Heather Stewart writes in the Guardian that Andy Burnham's plan for a radical political and economic reset is running into fiscal constraints. The piece argues his ambitions for a different economic approach face the same budgetary realities confronting the government, raising questions about how far any alternative programme can go without significant borrowing or reform.