Reform UK’s ‘pro-family’ policies are an exclusionary sham, minister says
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 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 about one in four children who started reception in 2025 not having been 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 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,”
Jimmy Kimmel on Mike Johnson’s new award for Trump: ‘You can almost feel his spine exiting his body’
Late-night hosts mocked the Republican party’s inaugural “America First” award for Donald Trump as he finally reveals the “present” he received from Iran.Jimmy Kimmel had a field day with the Republican National Committee’s inaugural “America First” award, presented to Trump on Wednesday by Mike Johnson, the House speaker, who described the prize as “appropriate for the new golden era in America”.“I can’t figure out who should be more embarrassed: the guy who came up with the new award, or the guy who proudly accepted the new award,” Kimmel laughed.“Watch Mike Johnson here,” he added before a clip of the lawmaker’s speech. “You can almost feel his spine exiting his body
Dark Mofo: 2026 festival to show Willem Dafoe film that can only be watched by one person at a time
A hallucinatory experimental film starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Rampling that can only be watched by one person at a time is heading to Australia as part of Tasmania’s 2026 Dark Mofo festival.It’s estimated that only 500 people in the world have seen French artist Loris Gréaud’s film Sculpt since its premiere at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2016 – although the exact figure is hard to know, since he later gave the files to hackers to distribute over the dark web.But come June, a lucky few can bid to join the film’s rarefied audience, when Gréaud presents a new edit – bemusingly titled Sculpt: Eye of the Duck – to one audience member at a time at a secret location outside of Hobart. It exemplifies the kind of weird and wonderful, rare and had-to-be-there experience that Dark Mofo has become known for.On the morning of each performance, hopeful viewers will be able to queue at a box office in downtown Hobart for one of nine timed, solo-viewing slots that day
Seth Meyers on Donald Trump’s ‘present’ from Iran: ‘Is the president getting catfished?’
Late-night hosts speculated on Donald Trump’s mystery “present” from Iran, as well as his delusions about a war he claims the US is not in.On Wednesday’s Late Night, Seth Meyers reminded viewers, once again, that Donald Trump “promised no more wars in the Middle East” before his recent military strikes on Iran.“But you guys, good news! It’s not a war,” he joked. Instead, according to Trump, it’s an “excursion” or “a little journey” in Iran. “Stop calling it an excursion!” Meyers exclaimed
Will this ‘Doritos-inspired’ hot cross bun cause some spicy full-scale anarchy – or is it merely weird-smelling clickbait?
Alyx, I tried one of the orange bread-things you left in the office kitchen. What was that?That, Julia, was the apotheosis of this year’s Easter rush of frankenfoods, a “Doritos-inspired” cheesy jalapeño hot cross bun. The trend of turning everything into a hot cross bun and turning hot cross buns into everything has been going for a while now, and this year the world’s biggest food companies got on board like brands at a pride parade in 2015.A savoury take is the most obvious of the not-crosses, which is why I bought it, but I also walked past a shelf filled with discounted Iced Vovo hot cross buns, alongside a bunch of other Arnott’s biscuits. If I’d gone to Woolworths instead of Coles, I could have picked up various CadburyxHXB collabs; and Aldi is doing a carrot cake number
Ministers consider charging tourists to enter national museums in England
Ministers are considering charging international tourists to access permanent collections at national museums as part of an initiative to improve arts funding.The government said there was a need for long-term options to fund the struggling arts sector in its response to a review of Arts Council England, which distributes public funding to the arts. Among the options cited was a hotel levy, a policy being consulted on.But Alison Cole, the director of the Cultural Policy Unit thinktank, said charging international tourists would be a “very bad idea”.“There’s a much better way to save our wonderful civic museums and cultural infrastructure across the country, and that we believe is a hotel levy,” she said
Jimmy Kimmel on Trump’s election integrity push: ‘Like Bill Cosby telling you he’ll watch your drink for you’
Late-night hosts mocked Donald Trump’s mail-in voting as he tries to end mail-in voting, ICE agents in US airports and a mysterious “gift” from Iran.On Tuesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host checked in on Donald Trump’s efforts to pass the so-called Save America act. The sweeping restrictive voting bill would require proof of US citizenship for new voters and end mail-in voting, or what Trump called “mail-in cheating”.“That’s right, he prefers in-person cheating,” Kimmel quipped.“He keeps saying that it was brought to his attention today that we’re the only country that does mail-in voting – when is someone going to step in and tell him that’s not true?” he continued
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