Conservative voters support plans that would allow childcarers to look after more children at a time, while Labour voters oppose them
A Coalition row has broken out over government-proposed changes that would aim to reduce childcare costs by allowing childminders and nurseries to look after a greater number of children for every member of staff.
The planned changes were announced during the Queen’s Speech, but afterwards it was reported that Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg privately told Conservatives he would block the changes, later publicly citing concerns they would not save money.
A YouGov survey taken earlier this year found that more opposed such plans than supported them, even if the rule changes might mean lower childcare costs. 41% oppose plans “changing the rules to make child care cheaper”, while 36% support such measures.
Support for allowing childcarers to look after more kids runs along partisan lines: half (50%) of Conservative voters support the change, but a majority (53%) of Labour voters oppose them. Also, while party leader Nick Clegg has taken a stand against changing the childcare ratio, Lib Dem voters are more supportive (44%) than opposed (31%) to the idea.
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