Olivia Bailey says she wants Sure Start-style hubs that will be rolled out in England on Monday to be inclusive for all
Reform UK’s “pro-family” policies are a sham and exclude non-traditional families, the government’s early years minister has said before the rollout of hundreds of new Sure Start-style family centres across England on Monday.
Olivia Bailey said she wanted the hubs to be inclusive for all families and transform communities, after what she called the “criminal” dismantling of Sure Start under the last Conservative government.
“Sure Start is one of our proudest achievements as a Labour party,” she said. “Best Start is central to what we’re trying to do as a government. For the first time in a long time, even ever, this is a government that is really focusing on the early years and making sure that we give every child the best possible start in life.”
Bailey, who adopted two children with her wife and is also an equalities minister, said she worried about the “chilling” effect a Reform government could have on gender equality and LGBTQ+ families. “I do worry about Reform,” she said. “They say that they’re the party of the family, but that’s a complete sham. They say they support families, but I don’t think they support families like mine.”
