Why UK should follow Nordics’ lead on universal childcare

Childcare is likely to be a key battleground for the UK’s 2015 general election. The Labour party has committed to a universal quality childcare service. It sees it as a strategic political, social and economic imperative. The Liberal Democrats are also trying to convince the electorate that they are serious about transforming childcare, with a promise to provide 15 hours of free childcare a week. The Conservatives plan to up the tax-free childcare scheme from £1,200 to £2,000 a year per child.

Promises to entice female votes? Perhaps, but these policy commitments affect us all, including fathers, grandparents, and taxpayers in general. To put the UK’s childcare cost crisis in perspective, it’s worth looking to how other countries, many of them Nordic, have forged ahead with making universal, quality childcare a priority.