Families are changing and politics must follow

By Liz Kendall MP and Alison McGovern MP

Family life is changing. Whilst women still provide most of the care for young children and older relatives – dads, granddads, uncles and brothers are playing an increasing role too.

Every week when we go out campaigning – in children’s centres and Labour’s care summits, at school gates and on the doorstep – we talk to men who struggle to balance their work and family lives.

Yet too often, men’s caring roles are not taken seriously enough – from the father in his 30s who went part-time in order to care for his child, and was told by his boss that he lacked ambition, to the man in his 60s who has never been asked by his local NHS or council care services if he needs help to look after his wife with dementia, even though he is facing real pressure both physically and emotionally.

Attitudes towards men’s caring roles are in no small part influenced by legislation and public policy. Take paid maternity leave, which is up to 39 weeks, compared to paid paternity leave, which is currently only two weeks. What message does this send out about society’s expectations for fathers’ roles? Or think about the way midwives, nursery staff and child-minders focus almost exclusively on ‘mum’, even if they talk about ‘supporting parents’?

The truth is, both mum and dad play a crucial role in their child’s development, and sons and husbands, as well as daughters and wives, are absolutely essential in looking after their elderly, sick and disabled relatives. Politics and public policy need to move on from old ways of thinking.

Women want change too. They tell us that they want more flexibility about how they split caring and earning responsibilities with their partners. This means improving men’s rights and support when it comes to childcare and care for the elderly.

Labour is the only party that really understands how family life is changing. We will support all families – men and women, young and old – from the very earliest years of a child’s life right through to the end of life: the party that is truly there for you from cradle to grave.

Dads will benefit from Labour’s plans to extend paternity leave to 4 weeks, increase paternity pay and provide 25 hours free childcare a week for working parents with three and four year-olds. Men will also get better support to care for their sick or frail wives and mums. Labour will place a new duty on the NHS to identify family carers and give them a right to an annual health check. We will also properly ring fence funding for breaks for family carers, introduce a single point of contact for care services to stop families having to battle different parts of the system and tell their story time and time again, and improve flexible working so family carers can hold down their jobs as well as look after their loved ones.

Family policy usually focuses on mothers with young children. Whilst this is still absolutely critical, Labour understands that many families are now also caring for older relatives and that men play a vital role as well as women. This is the reality of family life in 21st century Britain. Politics must follow – and Labour will lead the way.

Liz Kendall is Shadow Minister for Care and Older People and Alison McGovern is Shadow Minister for Children and Families. You can download the new pamphlet “Family Matters – Why Labour is the party of the family” here.