UK Conservatives propose extending free childcare to high earners

Ahead of its annual conference in Birmingham, the UK Conservative party has announced a proposal to extend free childcare entitlement to high-earning families by scrapping the current income threshold.

Current rules and the proposed change

Under the system introduced during Rishi Sunak's government, families with young children in England can claim 30 hours of free childcare per week. However, this entitlement is withdrawn if either parent earns more than £100,000 a year, regardless of the other parent's income. The Conservatives want to remove this cap entirely, so that any parent working 16 or more hours a week could qualify.

The party estimates the change would cost around £700m annually, to be funded by cutting jobs at bodies such as Arts Council England and the Environment Agency.

Leader's reasoning

Party leader Kemi Badenoch described the existing cut-off as absurd, arguing it discourages people from working more. She said she has personally faced similar work-childcare trade-offs as a mother of three, and noted that women typically bear a greater share of childcare responsibilities, meaning the current system disproportionately holds back their career progress.

Opposition response and wider context

A Labour spokesperson criticised the move, pointing out that the Conservatives are now seeking to reverse one of their own tax-related policies — one that benefits higher earners — despite having set the threshold themselves while in government.

The childcare proposal follows an earlier Conservative pledge to scrap stamp duty on most primary residences, a change estimated to cost £9bn a year and expected to mainly benefit wealthier households and those in London and the south-east. Another policy unveiled ahead of the conference is a plan to build 50,000 new prison places across England and Wales, partly funded by cutting overseas aid to £1bn a year — a 90% reduction from current spending plans.