Following Labour’s landslide win in this year’s general election, we explore what their proposed changes might mean for childcare policies, flexible working and families at large.
Labour’s impressive win at the general election means that not only is Keir Starmer now the UK’s Prime Minister, but that his party has an overwhelming majority in the House of Commons. And it’s that majority that will let the party easily make many of their proposed policies law. But what can families expect to change?
A major win for families, Labour plan to create 100,000 extra nursery places to help more parents access the already existing policy granting them 30 hours free childcare a week from the time their child is nine-months-old to when they start school. They’ll do this, they say, by opening more than 3,000 new nurseries in ‘spare’ primary school classrooms that schools do not use.
Elsewhere in education, they are expanding free breakfast clubs in schools with extra funding that will make them available in every school and for all children. This will allow parents to not only save on breakfast food costs, but also to start working earlier.
Within their first year in power, they also plan to review the parental leave system to make sure every single worker in the UK is entitled to paid parental leave and that mothers aren’t unfairly discriminated against when applying for work or promotions due to their possibility of taking maternity leave in the future.
But while the policies seem hopeful, not all parents are so sure about the new government’s ability to actually deliver on them.
Clare Seal, a financial coach, author, and mum, told us here at GoodTo.com, “I think any hope that parents have today is very cautious. It’s been getting harder and harder for even families in a relatively privileged position to make ends meet, and even changes that have seemed positive on the surface – like the ‘free’ childcare hours – have come with a stinging backhander and we’ve found ourselves no better off in real terms.
“We will be wary of Labour’s plans until they actually start to make a difference for us. Really, though, Labour’s number one priority ought to be lifting low income families out of the poverty that 14 years of Conservative government has plunged them into, and properly funding our care and education sectors so that our children – all of our children – can thrive.”
Parents on X [Formerly known as Twitter] have echoed Clare’s thoughts, proving that they’ll continue to be cautious until they see some action. “The manager of my son’s nursery says they can’t even get people to turn up to interviews, let alone hire them. I have no idea how Labour’s childcare policy is going to work – who’s staffing these 3,000 new nursery classes?” one mother wrote.
But our family editor here at Goodto.com, Stephanie Lowe, is vastly more positive about the promises. “It feels too good to be true. I’ll be watching from behind the sofa with crossed fingers,” she said. ” Though, for the last 14 years, the Tories have really done the UK public over, so anything Labour does can only be good, right?”
The general election has left parents and families with many questions about both family policy and the ins and outs of the election process. The main concern has really been the fact that parents are ‘struggling’ to access ‘inconsistent’ wraparound childcare and it’s affecting their career progression and this election will hopefully change that. We’ve also seen an uptick in children taking an interest in politics and Alastair Campbell is inspiring young people to take a stand. Plus, we’ve been left to wonder if voting should be made compulsory and debating the question at home would be a great family conversation starter.
