Every prime minister who enters Downing Street wants to ensure that by the time they go, they have left some sort of legacy – a mark of their premiership that has changed the country or the world for the better.
Andy Burnham has been clear from day one that he wants his legacy issue to be fixing the ongoing social care crisis in this country, but for him, this is far more than just a matter of legacy – it is personal.
Just before he took over from Keir Starmer, Burnham gave an interview where he spoke movingly about the plight of his father, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Heartbreakingly, he admitted that his father, who would have been so proud, does not even know his son has become prime minister.
As he opened an emotional speech to launch this latest push to solve local care issues, he was close to tears and speaking without notes as he talked movingly about how his father’s tragic circumstances mean he and his family have the “experience of being on the inside” of this crisis.
It means that Burnham himself has had firsthand experience of the postcode lottery that is social care for the elderly and that those with money stand a much better chance of getting the care they need than those without.
Of course, as things stand, the provision of much-needed care for the elderly in particular often means they have to sell their homes and use their savings to receive the level of support they deserve.
But beyond his tragic story of his father, this is personal for the new prime minister on another level.
Back in 2009, when he was health secretary in Gordon Brown’s government, Burnham attempted to fix this problem with cross-party consensus.
He invited the then Tory shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley for talks to discuss his idea for a levy when people die to help pay for social care.
Lansley came out of those talks and immediately went to the press with a full attack on Burnham’s plans for a “death tax”.
It became a major political issue which helped bring about the defeat of Brown’s government in 2010 and leave Labour in the wilderness for 14 years.
But, of course, the problem went unresolved; in the time that followed, it has just got worse.
As health secretary Yvette Cooper and Lib Dem leader Ed Davey have both pointed out, since 1997, there have been 22 failed attempts to solve this problem.
Both these politicians also have personal stories – Cooper with her mother’s dementia and Davey with his disabled son – which show this problem touches people across parties and the whole country.
This is why Burnham has gone out of his way to ask for an end to “political point scoring”, and replace it with a culture of “problem solving”, not only in this subject but in other areas too. He vowed “not to be distracted by screaming headlines” and asked for space in the media coverage of this issue, too.
In bringing the Tories and Lib Dems on board again – despite the betrayal 17 years ago – he is effectively asking for a wartime effort in resolving this crisis.
Burnham is willing to invest personal political capital in this issue, not just because he wants to be remembered as a great prime minister but because he knows from personal experience that this crisis cannot continue.
If it does, then, as he himself warns, the NHS will collapse under the pressure.
Read MoreBurnham makes emotional pledge to end care crisis that has ‘gone on too long’
Palliative and social care needs fixing before assisted dying debate, PM says
Carers should be best paid in society, not worst, says Burnham in social care speech
How adult social care in England works – and how much it could really cost to reform
New UK leader Burnham vows to fix a 'broken' social care system
Burnham turns to Tories and Lib Dems for social care solutions: ‘Help me fix this’
