Reform UK swings the axe at nurseries as parents face soaring childcare costs

The Save Our Stanley’s Campaign in South Shields outside the Town Hall (Photo: @NorthernUNISON / X)

Reform UK’s flagship council has voted to shut all 10 public nurseries in South Tyneside, north east England, where a third of children grow up in poverty.

The town hall was filled with boos and shouts of “Shame!” on Wednesday evening after a “rehearsed” discussion and the vote.

Families were left “shocked and appalled” after the vote to “snatch away” the nurseries that so many depend on, campaigner Joanna Taylor told Socialist Worker. 

“The whole community is crying out,” she said. “It’s all about the children.”

Some parents in South Tyneside will now have to choose between extortionate private childcare costs—and leaving work.

Known as Stanleys—South Tyneside Accredited Network for Learning in the Early Years—the council-funded nurseries provide childcare. 

But they also provide much needed support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), learning centres and family services.

The Save Our Stanleys campaign has staged demonstrations and rallies against the threatened closures.

Its petition against the closures, started by Joanna, has gained over 12,000 signatures.

Campaigners have slammed the decision to close the nurseries as “uninformed and uneducated”. They’re angry that the council has refused to listen to the families or the nursery workers. 

The council is one of Reform UK’s flagship councils, where the far right hold 41 of 54 seats. Despite Reform’s preaching about the need to protect “British families”, they are cutting vital services for children and parents.

Green Party and Labour councillors, the two Labour MPs for the area, and Unison and GMB unions have backed the campaign. 

A recent review into the nurseries found that they were not financially sustainable without a significant funding increase. 

Reform UK’s response was to close them completely. The lead councillor for children’s services, Michelle Fascione, claims that closure is the best option. But why isn’t better funding an option? 

Fascione came under fire for a vile Islamophobic rant in July where she claimed Islam would “dominate”. 

The review laid out seven “pathways” to tackle the funding issues for the nurseries. 

A council scrutiny committee unanimously said the decision should be deferred. Its preferred option was to keep the Stanleys open with “adjustments” such as increasing fees. 

But on Wednesday, Reform UK councillors went against the committee and a voted to close all council-funded nurseries in the area.

A council financial report says there is a £1.1 million subsidy to the Stanleys. But workers and parents say there’s been no evidence and no explanation for where this figure came from. 

While a £1.1 million subsidy seems high, it translates to just £8.50 per child per day. Private nurseries in the area charge upwards of £80 a day.

The report claimed that there were sufficient private nurseries for the 402 children currently using Stanleys.

But parents found that there simply was not space. Some nurseries had waitlists stretching into 2028.

Despite the shocking decision to close the Stanleys, parents are committed to keep pushing ahead with the campaign. 

“Children are the most vulnerable, they have no voice,” said Joanna. “We are determined to keep fighting.”