I am a parent – who should I vote for?
What are the main political parties saying about childcare? (Picture: PA/Getty)
Ahead of the General Election, there’s plenty to think about, but for many families one pressing issue will be rising childcare costs.
Recent polls suggest one in four people could have to give up their job or education because they can’t afford babysitters or nurseries.
Swing voters with children were found to be more than twice as likely to make childcare pledges a top priority than the average voter.
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With that in mind, here’s a look at what the main parties at the election are promising in terms of childcare.
Labour Party’s manifesto policies on childcare
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Labour has pledged to open an additional 3,000 nurseries (Picture: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)
Childcare
The Labour Party’s manifesto confirms that they will continue the Conservative’s childcare expansion plan, as set out in Jeremy Hunt’s Budget in 2023.
The major reform stated that in eligible households, where all adults are working at least 16 hours, families would be entitled to 30 hours of free childcare, for every child over the age of nine months.
This offer would begin the moment maternity or paternity leave ends, and would save families with a two-year-old using 35 hours of childcare each week an average of £6,500 a year.
Additional nurseries
In order to deliver this entitlement, Labour say they will open an additional 3,000 nurseries by upgrading spare classroom space in existing primary schools.
This would create 100,000 new childcare places, which will be focused in childcare ‘deserts’, to target the areas where parents are struggling the most to access childcare.
It’s estimated the new nurseries would cost around £40,000 per classroom to put into place, and this money would come from private schools, as Labour plans to scrap their tax exempt status and business rates relief, and introduce a 20% VAT on private school fees.
Free breakfast clubs
In addition to this, the party has also said they will introduce free breakfast clubs in all primary schools, which will not only help parents struggling with childcare of a morning, but will be an initial step to confront child poverty in the UK, as last year over a million children experienced destitution.
Labour claims that for parents who are currently paying for a childminder before school, using the free breakfast clubs would make them £50 better off a week, and save them £2,000 across the school year.
For those currently paying for a breakfast club, this change would save them £400 over the full school year.
Parental leave
Finally, if elected, Labour says that they would review the parental leave system within their first year, to ensure it best supports working families, and make parental leave a day-one right.
Conservative Party’s manifesto policies on childcare
The Tories are investing £300 million into wraparound childcare (Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Childcare
As already mentioned, the Tories set out their major childcare expansion plan in March 2023, which promised working parents 30 free hours of childcare for every child over the age of nine months.
The Conservative Party will be continuing with the rollout of this scheme, and have committed to increasing hourly funding rates over the next two years by £500 million.
While doing this, they’ll also be helping the childcare sector, including childminders, to hire more staff, create more places, and spend less time on paperwork.
The Tory manifesto also states that they’ll be giving working parents more flexibility by investing £300 million by September 2026 into wraparound childcare. This is childcare for primary school-aged kids, before and after school, and during term time.
Child benefits
They’ve also pledged to reform one of their own child benefit policies if they win the General Election.
The Tories promised to ‘end unfairness’ among child benefit recipients by calculating benefits based on a household, rather than an individual basis, as it’s currently done. They claim this will stop single earner households from being worse off than those with two working parents and a higher total income.
As part of this, the combined household income at which a family will start losing child benefit would be set at £120,000. The benefits would gradually be removed until the income reaches £160,000.
According to the Conservatives, this plan would benefit more than 700,000 households, with each gaining an average of £1,480 per year.
Liberal Democrats‘ manifesto policies on childcare
The Lib Dems want to overhaul parental leave (Picture: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)
Childcare
For the Lib Dems, the Tories’ affordable childcare expansion is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to childcare reform.
The party has stated that it would give two-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds an extra five hours of early years education per week, a policy it’s building in towards its greater goal of universal, full-time entitlement for all children aged between two and four.
Parental leave
In addition to reducing the cost, they also want to overhaul parental leave, giving parents more paid time off and more choice over how to manage things.
As such, the Liberal Democrats have pledged to double statutory maternity and shared parental pay to £350 a week, and introduce an extra use-it-or-lose-it month for fathers and partners, paid at 90% of earnings (with a cap for high earners).
Right now, new parents are only eligible for paid shared parental leave for 37 weeks, but the Liberal Democrats say their ambition is to extend this to 46 weeks. They also want to introduce paid neonatal care leave.
Like Labour, they say they’d make parental leave a day-one right, and do the same for parental pay. But taking things a step further, both of these would be extended to adoptive parents, kinship carers, and self-employed parents, under the Lib Dems.
If the Lib Dems win at the election, parental leave policies would also become more transparent, as large employers would be required to publish them, as well as their pay policies.
And in terms of other childcare aspects, the Liberal Democrat manifesto also pledges to review childminding, and develop a training programme for nursery staff, with an emphasis on supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Eagle-eyed parents might have spotted that there’s a reform to child benefits included in there too, as the party pledged to introduce an enhanced rate for one-year-olds, which they called a ‘Toddler Top-Up’.
Green Party’s manifesto policies on childcare
The Green Party also wants to invest in Sure Start Centres (Picture: Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images)
Pre-school education and healthcare
Prioritising a ‘fairer’ and ‘greener’ education system, the Green Party is supporting both families and young people through its manifesto pledges.
When it comes to pre-school education, the party has argued that it’s important to allow children to focus on play and ‘safely explore the world around them.’ Through this ethos, it believes it can assist families in accessing work and other opportunities.
As such, the party is advocating for an extra £1.4 billion per year to be invested in Sure Start Centres, local bodies that advise on child and family health, parenting, money, training and employment.
And, in terms of childcare provisions, the Greens say they will offer 35 hours of childcare per week from nine months, a welcome boost for families struggling under the hefty costs.
Increasing school funding
As anticipated, when it comes to education specifically, the Green Party has pledged to create a ‘greener’ system, increasing school funding by £8 billion – a figure which includes a £2 billion pay increase for teachers.
It would also end what it labels ‘high-stakes testing’ at primary and secondary schools, and abolish Ofsted.
Expanding funding allocated to children’s social care
Elsewhere, the party has also pledged to dramatically increase the funding allocated to children’s social care, and would seek to push for an additional £3 billion to be provided to local authorities in this area.
Elected Green MPs would also push for children either in foster care or who have been adopted to have ‘consistent access’ to counselling for the period of time that they need it.
It would also extend ‘staying put arrangements,’ to enable fostered young people to stay with their foster parents until they’re 21, should they wish.
Reform UK’s manifesto policies on childcare
Reform UK released its manifesto on Monday June 17 (Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images)
Front-loading the child benefits system
Releasing its manifesto on Monday June 17, Reform UK has centered much of its policy around immigration – but has also touched on childcare and families.
Stating its belief that ‘strong families are the bedrock of a thriving society,’ Nigel Farage’s party has promised to support ‘family formation’ and ‘give parents back control,’ most notably committing to front-loading the child benefit system for children aged between one and four.
In doing this, the party believes it would give parents ‘the choice to spend more time with their children,’ writing in its manifesto that ‘the majority of mothers would choose to stay at home more if they could.’
This is a policy Reform UK would introduce in the first 100 days, making it a political priority.
Introducing a ‘patriotic’ curriculum
Though its strategy on childcare specifically is relatively sparse, Reform UK believes that, when it comes to the education system, children and young people are being ‘badly let down.’
During the first 100 days of government, the party would introduce a ‘patriotic curriculum’ in both primary and secondary schools, noting that it believes students should be ‘taught about their heritage.’
It would also provide relief for the parents of private school students in committing to a 20% tax relief on all independent education, a move it argues would ‘significantly ease pressure on state schools and improve education for all.’
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