London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 24, 2025

Labour promising 1,000 new children's centres

Jeremy Corbyn pledges £1bn to open new Sure Starts - and LibDems offer childcare from nine months.

Labour is promising to open 1,000 new Sure Start children's centres in England.

Party leader Jeremy Corbyn says he would invest £1bn in the early years centres, as part of a package of childcare support.

The Lib Dems will promise subsidised childcare for working families from when children are nine months old.

The Conservatives say they are already "investing record amounts in high-quality childcare".

Childcare providers have expressed scepticism at the lack of funding details and warned of an "electoral arms race" on childcare promises.

On a visit to Leeds with shadow education secretary Angela Rayner, Mr Corbyn will promise to open a new generation of Sure Start centres, which provide health, welfare and education services for pre-school children.


'Positive impact'

According to a report from the Sutton Trust last year, up to 1,000 have closed in the past decade, with funding pressures being blamed.

Labour says it will "reverse the cuts" in the centres which were originally launched when Tony Blair was prime minister.

An analysis from the Institute of Fiscal Studies earlier this year said Sure Start had made a positive impact, with evidence that the health advice had "significantly reduced" the numbers of children being admitted to hospital.

But the financial think tank said it had been a story of a "fast roll-out followed by deep spending cuts", with spending peaking at £1.8bn in 2010 and then being cut to £600m by 2017-18.

The IFS puts the number of closures at about 500 sites - half the Sutton Trust estimate.

Labour has also restated its commitment to providing 30 hours-a-week of childcare for all two-to-four-year-olds, as part of its overall £4.5bn childcare package.

Ms Rayner said the extra support for early-years education could "transform lives".

Mr Corbyn said opening a Sure Start centre in "every community" would "unlock the potential of every child".

He said: "Parents are struggling to afford the childcare support they need, while many children are going hungry and growing up homeless."


Childcare from nine months

The Liberal Democrats are unveiling their own childcare plans - offering 35 hours a week for all parents of two-to-four-year-olds.

This would be available for working parents from when their children are nine months old.

The Lib Dems say this will be funded by "fair tax changes", which they say means "making sure that big businesses pay their share".

Layla Moran, the Lib Dem education spokeswoman, said it would support families as they "juggle the demands of modern life, working and parenting, by giving them more choice over how they organise their lives and improve social mobility with early-years education".

At present working parents of three- and four-year-olds in England are entitled to 30 hours' free childcare a week - and the Conservatives say they have increased the funding and quality of childcare provision while in government.

Early Years Minister Nick Gibb said: "Labour's plans to abolish Ofsted would leave these centres without anyone properly checking your children are safe."

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, welcomed Labour's promise for new Sure Start centres.

But he raised concerns about funding the promises - and whether there would be adequate levels of payments for nurseries and childcare providers.

"This is a positive policy for the thousands of parents struggling to afford childcare - but the lack of detail on how it will be funded will strike fear into the hearts of many providers.

"We currently have a funding shortfall in the early years of two-thirds of a billion pounds. That shortfall, which has led to thousands of provider closures, is a direct result of an ongoing electoral arms race between political parties to entice parents with 'free childcare' without thinking through how it will be paid for.

"It has meant that very few parents receive truly 'free' childcare and has ultimately pushed up prices for non-funded hours."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
×