The Conservatives' poster was based on a Guardian story Attempts to reach a deal on elderly care in England appear to have fallen even 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. He said the compulsory levy on estates to pay for free personal care at home for the most elderly was just one of three options set out in a Green Paper and no decision had been reached. 'Negative campaign'He accused the Conservatives of indulging on old-style "nasty" campaigning with a "scaremongering" poster, which says: "now Gordon wants £20,000 when you die". The costs of failing to act are simply too great to allow the debate needed to be drowned out by party-political squabbling Letter signed by 18 charities Charities demand end to care spat He added: "This is not an issue for scare stories and negative campaigning.[Read more...]