FROM banning kids’ smartphones to increasing Carers’ Allowance and prioritising maternity care, our Fabulous Cabinet tells Nikki Watkins what ordinary mums want to hear from party leaders before election day on July 4.
Here is what they want from the party leaders.
MINISTER FOR CHILDCARE
GRANDMA and mum-of-two Angela Andrea, 53, from Halstead, Essex, opened her first nursery in Hertfordshire at the age of 21 and sold up 25 years later, in 2018.
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She says: “After a quarter of a century as a nursery owner, it’s bitterly ironic that my daughter Maddie, 28, is struggling to find a nursery place for my two-year-old grandson, Teddy.
“It’s heartbreaking seeing my daughter in tears when all she wants to do is work and be a good mum. Teddy is a happy soul who loves interacting with other children but the three nurseries closest to home are full and it’s the same story with ones outside their area.
“It’s left the family surviving on one wage, as Maddie can now only work as a make-up artist for a few hours in the evenings when her husband, who owns a car valet business, is around to take care of Teddy.
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“It’s so different to how it was when Maddie and her brother Charlie, 24 were young in the ’90s.
“Back then it felt like the mums who wanted to work had better access to childcare. In 2010 the government introduced free childcare places. This has been fraught with problems and needs fixing urgently.
“In my experience, the amount the Government pays towards these places doesn’t cover staffing and training costs, maintaining buildings or paying bills.
“I have always been told that nurseries aren’t allowed to charge more to cover the shortfall but this is very complicated and changes from council to council.
“If that is the case then they have to find a way to make cuts which could mean closing down or not paying staff what they deserve.
“I don’t see any of the parties addressing these issues.
“The Lib Dems promise all parents will be able to access flexible, fair and affordable childcare but don’t explain how they will do it.
“Reform UK talks about offering a higher rate of child benefit when a child is younger in exchange for a lower rate when the child is older, to give parents the choice to stay at home. But how does that help parents like Maddie who want to work?
“Labour wants primary schools to look after the under-fives but many schools are overcrowded. How will they find the extra room for toddlers?
“Tories have been saying they will increase funding to help the Early Years Foundation Stage industry employ more staff for over a decade, but nothing has happened. If I was in the Cabinet, the first thing I would do is make sure sensible funding was made available for nurseries.
“If money isn’t put into EYFS, there will be no childcare system for the working families.
“It might sound controversial but facilities should be able to charge appropriately if necessary. Those who can afford to pay should be able to get places.
“Maybe financial help for parents who can’t afford needs to come from elsewhere.
“I feel, this would be fairer for the parents, and the industry, and enable nurseries to pay staff and offer a better standard of service.
“Parents, like Maddie, would be able to work full-time knowing their children were being properly cared for.
“The people who look after our treasured tots are humans too — I have seen nursery workers at breaking point, exhausted and in tears. The system is broken.”
MINISTER FOR SMARTPHONES
MUM of two Hannah Oertel, 40, from Edinburgh, has two girls aged nine and 11 and wants to delay smartphones for teenagers under 14.
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The campaigner and full-time mother says: “If I were in government I would crack down on phone and social media use in under-16s.
“I love my girls and I want to keep them safe — kids are not safe with smartphones. I’m not a strict parent but I wouldn’t let a stranger into their bedroom, that’s effectively what we’re doing by giving kids smartphones.
“My nine-year-old daughter was shown a beheading video at choir practice by one of her friends. It could have been hugely traumatic for her. She thought it was a fake video, thank goodness, and I wasn’t going to correct her.
“Her story is a perfect example of why we need to delay smartphones for all kids. It wasn’t even my daughter’s phone but she was exposed to social media on another kid’s one.
“Staggeringly, 30 per cent of all video content on the internet is porn, and of that, 87 per cent portrays violence against women. All parties claim to care about our youth but only the Tories recommended a ban on smartphones in schools.
“I’d like a retro solution — kids under 14 should only use “brick” phones, like the Nokia, with no internet access. I started a campaign for this, called Delay Smartphones, in Edinburgh last year.
“The Reform UK party has shown care towards kids. Its manifesto states they will impose a rule of no smartphones or social media in schools for under 16s.”
MINISTER FOR SOCIAL CARE
ELAINE HUGHES from Harringay, North London was born with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and lives with her neurodivergent daughter Kemi, 23.
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Elaine, 47, a diversity business strategist says: “Putting it simply, the benefits system is not working, I see this through the eyes of a mum to a neurodivergent daughter.
I have also cared for my own mum, who had dementia, and dad who had the lung condition COPD and dementia. I was very isolated and alone with little access to resources. No party gets to the core of the problem of social care in their manifesto.
“Carer’s allowance is a pittance, currently around £82 a week — no one can live on that.
“People are having to go without things most would deem ‘essential’. The party who makes this a fairer income could get my vote.
“Labour say they are ‘committed to reviewing Universal Credit so that it makes work pay and tackles poverty’ and the Conservatives say they will save £12billion by making sure working age people on disability benefits have a job. But there is little detail on how they will do this and protect the most vulnerable.
“I’ve been at the sharp end of this myself, as a sufferer of spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, which affects my arms and legs. Although medical professionals agree I need a wheelchair, I don’t meet the Government’s qualifications for one.
“I am trying to save upward of £5,000 myself to pay for it, simply to be able to move around and be independent. My daughter has to help look after me and has suffered mental health issues as a result, but no party is offering support for young carers like her. They need youth groups and mental health and wellbeing support.
“I can see some rays of light in the manifestos. The Tories say people on personal independence payments (PIP) — a benefit for people under state pension age, who need help with daily activities or getting around because of a long-term illness or disability — could see their payments replaced by vouchers.
“While I don’t want that, if vouchers were given on top of benefits it might allow people to pay for equipment such as wheelchairs or adaptable beds instead of spending years saving. Labour is also talking about more special educational needs and disabilities support in schools, which would be a huge step forward. My daughter never had any support.”
MINISTER FOR MATERNAL CARE
SANDRA IGWE, 34, is a married mum of three daughters and wants the next government to fix the maternity ward scandal.
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Sandra, from South East London, says: “Half of Britain’s maternity wards have been rated as failing, compensation payouts for negligence have more than doubled in the past seven years. An estimated 30,000 women a year in the UK suffer negative experiences giving birth. One in 20 develop post-traumatic stress disorder as a result.
“I had completely inadequate birth experiences with my three daughters. During my first labour in 2016, I was denied pain relief.
“In my second labour, pain relief was delayed.
“With my third daughter, I was in hospital, in labour for six days. I wasn’t given food because of staff forgetting I was there, I had more than 15 different midwives in six days who I had to constantly explain my circumstances to, there was no continuity of care and I was actually told I wasn’t ‘a priority’.
“As a new mum who had raised concerns over and over as my newborn bawled I know that birthing wards are understaffed. I also believe race had a lot to do with how poorly I was treated.
“Black women are statistically nearly four times more likely than white women to die within six weeks of giving birth.
“Black mums are more likely to have postnatal depression and eight per cent less likely to get pain relief as required.
“Mums I know have described racial stereotyping and assumptions on the labour ward.
“One of the most common experiences was that of black, brown and mixed ethnicity women finding pain relief is denied or delayed because of racist stereotypes, including black women’s perceived ability to tolerate pain. Because of my own traumatic birth experiences I started a national organisation to help other black mums, The Motherhood Group, and I deliver community-based events.
“But what we need is real action from the government that comes into power.
“Labour and the Conservatives have mentioned improving maternity care in their manifestos, while the other main parties mention the NHS but say nothing about maternity. Us mums need to see clear targets to reduce stillbirths, tragic baby deaths, maternal deaths and brain injuries. And the other parties need to hold the Government to account.
“We need plans to tackle midwife shortages, and we need midwives to be better trained in dealing with black and ethnic minority women.
“In years to come, if my precious daughters want to become parents, I need them to have a much more positive maternity experience.”
MINISTER FOR YOUTH VIOLENCE
ALISON COPE, 50, from Birmingham lost her son Joshua Ribera, aged 18, when he was knifed through the heart following a fall-out over a girl. He was unarmed.
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Alison says: “Joshua was stabbed in the chest by Armani Mitchell, also 18, who was carrying a knife at a nightclub.
“My wonderful, only son left our home saying he loved me and from that day, September 20, 2013, my life was shattered.
“My son had many difficulties growing up. It was only because I’m not the kind of person to ever give up that he managed to turn things around to become a professional rapper, Depzman, tipped to be the next Stormzy — then his life was snuffed out.
“I was determined to stop this senseless killing and started campaigning against youth violence, visiting schools weekly to warn of the dangers.
“But despite my efforts, knife crime is increasing.
“In January, the Office for National Statistics reported that there was a five per cent surge in the past year.
“It feels like, weekly, we hear of another young life being lost in a senseless attack.
“The party that makes young people’s lives the priority would get my vote. Not a single party addresses what young people are being exposed to, like the social media sites which some kids use to arrange fights.
“The Lib Dems manifesto is the most positive as they recommend having a qualified mental health worker in every primary school, which is excellent.
“Tories mention social media in relation to mental health but not youth violence and Labour talk about increasing police patrols in town centres, but what about suburbs?
“On the whole, the manifestos fall flat.
“I haven’t visited a single school in the UK where all kids tell me they feel safe.
“Many schools have had a student bring in a knife, including primaries. It is so shocking.
“I cannot bring my little boy home, so all the parties need to make it a priority to have enough police and youth services to stop violence in the first place.
“There needs to be a compulsory education around youth violence, from primary age on, so kids are aware of the dangers associated with weapons and the influence of social media.”