It’s all change in Westminster as Labour paint the town red with an historic landslide win, securing a whopping 412 seats for the party. So, as the first Labour Prime Minister since 2010 sorts through wallpaper samples for their new pad, let’s take a look at the promises the party made during their election campaign to improve the lives of mums across the UK.
What has Labour promised parents?
Since the day the then Shadow Education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said Labour’s childcare plan would be like the birth of the NHS but offered no further information, Pregnant Then Screwed inboxes were suddenly flooded with messages from frantic parents worried that the extensions to the 30 'free' hours childcare scheme might disappear under a Labour government. And we get it, mothers took to the streets in their thousands to protest for more affordable childcare. Family planning and career decisions have been made in relation to being able to access the newly extended scheme. If those hours could be taken away in a shake up, the consequences would be devastating. So, it will be reassuring for many to know that as it stands, Labour have committed to continue with the rollout.
However, as many avid readers of The Juggle will know, the scheme is not without its faults. It’s underfunded, causing childcare bills to continue to rocket skywards and providers to close their doors as they buckle under the financial pressure of delivering it. Many families are locked out of accessing the scheme altogether and for those that meet the eligibility criteria, there isn’t anywhere near enough staff or spaces available to meet the anticipated demand. So far, we have heard promises from Labour to create 100,000 new childcare spaces in schools, but where the staff will come from to run these new nurseries during a sector-wide recruitment and retention crisis remains a mystery.
At Pregnant Then Screwed, we are calling on the new Government to stick to their initial 'NHS moment' ambition. It’s time for radical, thoughtful reform of the childcare system to create a more equitable model. We want to see a move to a single benefit system for childcare (rather than the EIGHT benefit systems that currently exist), where costs are no more than 5% of household income and providers are given a 20% uplift on their hourly rates to prevent any further closures. Unlike the current system, it would ensure those on the lowest incomes (who have the most to benefit from affordable childcare) are able to access what they need to thrive. Families of twins and triplets would no longer be priced out of childcare and single parents earning over a certain amount will no longer be unfairly penalised due to eligibility being based on household income.
If you’ve managed to scrape through the nursery years and want to know what the Labour government means for your school age children, then let’s dig into the promise to open a breakfast club in every single primary school in England. Now, this sounds great in theory, one of the biggest puzzles of juggling school age children and a job is figuring out how on earth you’re expected to be simultaneously sending your darling children through the school gates at five to nine whilst also somehow being in the office and at your desk for 9am. So better access to breakfast clubs is welcome for sure, but as with Labour’s new nursery ambition - where the staff are going to magically appear from to staff over 16,000 breakfast clubs in England is yet to be seen.
Labour’s manifesto is somewhat lacking in its ambition to support parents of children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND), too. While it talks of improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs, many parents will be left wondering what on earth they’re supposed to do until their children reach school age or through the school holidays in a system that currently feels rigged against them.
From the looks of it, we’re still some way from sorting early years education and childcare out for all families. So now more than ever, what parents need is stronger rights to access flexible working, to help them keep the plates spinning. Here Labour have delivered another soundbite level promise to 'make flexible working the default from day one' but when pressed on the details of how exactly this will work in practice their plans are still unclear. At Pregnant Then Screwed we’re asking the Government to legislate for all available kinds of flexible working available for each role to be listed in the job description. This will mean that parents and those with caring responsibilities will clearly be able to see whether a new job could work for them before they go through the recruitment process. That will help put an end to mothers being trapped in jobs beneath their payg rade and skill level for fear that they won’t get the flex they need anywhere else.
And what about parental leave? Labour refrained from outright committing to directly addressing issues like the shockingly low rate of statutory pay or how many Dads and partners have no legal right to paid paternity leave right now due to being self-employed. Instead, they have promised to undertake a review of maternity, paternity and shared parental leave which would be cause for celebration if only the Conservative party hadn’t just completed their own review and failed to deliver any meaningful change from it.
Finally, let’s take a look at plans to increase access to justice for those who find themselves on the receiving end of workplace discrimination or bullying. Labour adopted Pregnant Then Screwed’s longest running campaign ask here by agreeing to extend the time limit to raise an employment tribunal claim from a measly three months to six. This will give significantly more people the opportunity to stand up for themselves in the face of serious wrongdoing in the workplace and quite frankly we’re thrilled that they immediately understood the importance of this campaign.
What we’re yet to see though is any indication that Labour will stop victims of workplace discrimination from being gagged by NDAs as they call out this shady behaviour at work. Here at Pregnant Then Screwed we’re calling for an outright ban of NDAs and confidentiality clauses against victims of workplace bullying, discrimination and harassment so they can talk freely about what happened to them and employers are forced to address bad practise.
If you’re sensing a theme here you’re not alone. Labour is making all of the right noises as they broadly gesture towards many of the problems mothers have been pointing at for years, but the devil is in the detail. Right now, we don’t have enough of that to pop the champagne and pack up the Pregnant Then Screwed advice lines just yet. As everyone fights for their space under this new government, charities like Pregnant Then Screwed need to keep the pressure on and continue to fight for legislation to better support mums. You can support their fight by donating here right now.