Health spokesmen clash over elderly care funding
Attempts to reach a consensus on how to pay for elderly care in England appear to have fallen further apart amid angry exchanges on BBC One's Politics Show. Health Secretary Andy Burnham has called a cross-party conference on the issue after earlier talks broke down. Lib Dem Norman Lamb backed the idea but Tory spokesman Andrew Lansley said he would only attend if Labour scrapped a £20,000 "death tax" plan. Mr Burnham accused the Tories of making up "scare stories" about his proposals. The government's "ageism tsar" described the "political circus" as "shameful".