Bristol campaign to highlight cost of childcare crisis 

The stark reality of paying for childcare will be all too familiar for the many families in Bristol attempting to navigate through a “broken” system.

Compounded by the cost of living crisis, it is a situation that is fast coming to a head with the launch of a major campaign to shed light on the issue and lobby for systemic reform.

“Why are people not more angry about this?” asks Nicola Beech in disbelief.

“It affects hundreds of thousands of families in this city, yet parents are made to feel they have to be grateful to have a (nursery) place.”

The mum and Labour councillor for St George, along with former councillor Mhairi Threlfall, is leading the campaign for action.

They have joined forces with national campaign organisation Pregnant Then Screwed to bring a March of the Mummies protest to Bristol on October 29 to collectively speak out against the current system and campaign for three key actions:

• Good quality affordable childcare for all children
• Flexible working as the default
• Ring-fenced, properly paid paternity leave

Speaking about the issue, Beech – who is also a cabinet member for strategic planning, resilience & floods – says: “Families are at breaking point in this city. The cost of living crisis is touching every corner of our city.

“Mhairi and I are really concerned that this enormous pressure on families of raising early years children and having a job – and everything that costs – is not being talked about. For anyone going through that, it runs into hundreds of pounds a month.

“This is not just about women, it does disproportionately affect women but it also has an enormous impact on fathers.”

Beech is clear that whether or not parents choose to go back to work after having a child is entirely their choice – yet, for far too many that choice is taken away because the cost of childcare is simply too high.

“There are hundreds of women in this city who can’t afford to work because their pay does not cover the cost of that provision,” she tells Bristol24/7.

Beech says that even putting aside the moral impetus, there is a clear economic incentive to give the cost of childcare provision a major overhaul. Rather than regarded as essential infrastructure, it is currently a luxury.

“There has to be a policy framework that works because how can we write off half of the economy for five to seven years?” she asks.

Beech is encouraging people to turn out for the protest and hopes to see the diversity of Bristol reflected as those affected tell their untold stories.

The March of the Mummies protest is coming to Bristol on October 29 – photo: Depth and Field Photography

The first March of the Mummies protest took place in 2017 in six cities across the UK and one in California.

Organisers expect the family-friendly event taking place in Bristol – as well as ten other cities across the country – will be bigger and more impactful than ever with more than 7,000 people already signed up to attend nationally.

“There has never been a more important time for us to make our collective voices heard around these issues,” says Joeli Brearley, the CEO and founder of Pregnant Then Screwed.

“Our childcare system is collapsing, the new business minister thinks people who work flexibly are lazy and due to the cost of living crisis, parents are cutting their parental leave short as they cannot manage on the meagre income offered by statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance.”

The protest will kick off at 10.30am on College Green, followed by a march through the city centre before heading back to College Green. There will be speeches and plenty for families to do, with Halloween costumes optional.

For more information, visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/march-of-the-mummies-2022-bristol-tickets-393019490877

In the run up to the march, Bristol24/7 will be running a series of articles looking at how the cost of childcare crisis is impacting different families in the city.

Main photo: Depth and Field Photography 

Read more: 

• How women bear the brunt of the cost of living crisis 
• The invisible gap: How the cost of living crisis is affecting people in Bristol 
• Parents protest ‘derogatory treatment’ of pupils at school gates 

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