Will labour keep the free 30 hours a week nursery?

[BlueDaBaDee]

I am Labour through and through. Would never vote Tory. But I don't know how I will cope without the 30 hours free nursery next year. Can't see in Labours manifesto whether they would keep the plans or not?

This will teach me to start threads in the right section 🙄

I think this section is becoming a little more colonised IYSWIM during the campaign!

I don't know the answer to this one, because I have only read précis of the leaked manifesto, not a full copy.

I think it would be difficult for Labour to reduce it - there are pledges about more free childcare, but not how they will be going about it. The current architecture for it (which was introduced in the Blair/Brown years) basically doesn't work very well, so I'd quite like to see them re-do it and turn it into something more workable.

I hope not. Vastly underfunded and providers are closing due to going bust more than ever before.

Awful situation that parents don't seem to grasp.

It'll probably fall under this pledge:

"A National Education Service to provide "cradle-to-grave learning that is free at the point of use" from early years to adult education" (source: BBC summary if key manifesto points)

But I've no idea what this actually means in terms of early years education and how that interacts with working parents needing childcare (something which is a requirement beyond the typical length of a school day, and for weeks beyond term time ones)

*I hope not. Vastly underfunded and providers are closing due to going bust more than ever before.

Awful situation that parents don't seem to grasp.*

Fair enough. I get that, I've worked in nurseries. But as a young lone parent in a very expensive city with very expensive childcare (over £1400 for full time childcare, and £1100 for an average 2 bed), just starting out in my career, I do hope so for my own 'selfish' needs. Isn't this what most people think about when considering who who to vote for? Alongside people who are worse off? The nursery providers are free to vote, and consider their vote differently.

Thanks everyone, that's useful. Guess I'll have to wait and see.

Of course! Does that mean I can't share my opinion too? I earn a low wage and live in an expensive area which is why I can't afford to offer the funding. I can't support a loss to my own income. It's not free hours. They are funded hours with me covering the shortfall. If it's funded properly and paid more regularly (instead of me having to wait to the end of each term to be paid) since I also have bills to pay, then I will be more supportive of it.

Don't get me wrong I sympathise but this is a new thing. Everyone else previously has had the same predicament and struggled to pay for their childcare fees.

Labour are promising anything that people need. They have a stack of money.

When it was first introduced, it worked very well indeed. It was properly funded and providers were paid extra to deliver it because of the extra work involved.

That's why, when the funding decreased, we kept on providing it, despite losing out by increasing amounts. It is a good policy - if there is one thing the Labour Government can be justly proud of achieving, it's the Early Years and I'm so pleased to see that commitment in their (leaked) manifesto.
I hate what has been done to Early Years and Surestart since they lost the 2010 election.

There's no reason to suppose they'll remove the free entitlement because it was originally a Labour policy introduced by their Government and they have said ever since that they wanted to increase the hours available.

Thank you Tanith. Really helpful