Politics
Conservatives pledge to scrap £100,000 childcare "cliff edge"
October 3, 2026 at 10:04 PM
Coverage
3 reports
BNBBC News
People shouldn't be punished for working harder, Badenoch says
(opens the publisher’s site)
BNBBC News
Conservatives pledge to scrap £100,000 childcare 'cliff edge'
(opens the publisher’s site)
TGThe Guardian
Tories plan to expand free childcare to high earners to end ‘cliff edge’
(opens the publisher’s site)The Conservative Party has announced plans to remove the £100,000 earnings threshold that cuts off state childcare support in England.
- The Conservatives unveiled the policy ahead of their conference, saying parents working at least 16 hours a week would qualify for 30 hours of free childcare.
- Kemi Badenoch said people "shouldn't be punished for working more," arguing workers should not face a disincentive to take pay rises or promotions.
- Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith called the move "the first step in our mission to deliver lower, simpler, and fairer taxes across the board."
- The party said the £700 million annual cost would be funded by cutting jobs in executive non-departmental public bodies, saving £1.6 billion by 2029-30.