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.”
Bailey pointed to the appointment of James Orr, a rightwing theologian who opposes abortion even in cases of rape, incest or serious risk to health, and to remarks made by the Reform MP Danny Kruger, who has stated that the UK is “suffering from having a totally unregulated sexual economy” and warned of the UK being led by an “appalling Hamas-supporting, LGBT-supporting nationalist party”. Reform’s plans to repeal the Equality Act would have “a chilling effect on the rights of women”, she added.
“They are not the party that is going to stand up for families like mine, for families of all different shapes and sizes,” she said. “I do worry that Reform will just turn the clock back.”
Speaking at the bustling Harmood family hub in Camden, north London, Bailey said the one-stop-shop centre – where parents can access services including childcare, health, parenting tips and support – was a model for the first 200 of 1,000 new Best Start family hubs that will open in England from Monday. Ministers say the plan is backed by almost £1bn of funding, including £500m specifically for the hubs.
The centres would not be a “plug and play” copy of Sure Start – which peaked at about 3,600 sites under Gordon Brown – but would work with private and voluntary sector childcare settings while keeping the “same ambition”, she said. A study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that those living near a Sure Start centre in their early years got better GCSE results, were in hospital less often and had fewer absences from school. More than 1,400 of the centres were closed from 2010 onwards.
“It was absolutely criminal what the Conservatives did to Sure Start. It gutted the heart out of communities across the country,” said Bailey. “Parents tell me they feel like they are passed around between services and don’t know where to go to get help [but] Best Start hubs are driving this connection between services, and driving this sense of community again.”
The hubs will also be a part of government plans to overhaul how children with special educational needs are supported, with £200m allocated to fund a family-facing Send practitioner in every hub. Bailey said: “We saw with Sure Start [that] if you get that help with speech and language, or whatever it may be, to children early it reduces the need for a Send diagnosis further down the track.”
Early years development has become an increasing concern to educators – and politicians – with around one in four children who started reception in 2025 not toilet trained, according to a recent survey of teachers. Ministers have set a target for 75% of children to be school-ready by 2028; at present, only 68.3% of children meet the criteria, according to the latest Department for Education (DfE) figures.
On Monday, ministers will give local authorities specific statutory targets to hit by 2028, to raise the proportion of children achieving a “good level of development” – including being toilet-trained and able to communicate – by the end of reception. Councils will also have to have a local Best Start plan to improve child development, setting out how they will work with other organisations and fund help for children up to five years old.
Bailey, whose children went to a maintained nursery that used to be a Sure Start centre, said she wanted all parents to share her own positive experience. “As an LGBT family, I was worried about whether I’d be accepted, but we found a real sense of belonging and community,” she said. “I got so much strength from the help that I got, and I want that for everyone.”
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