The Latest Breaking News from Sure Start

Some councils are already spending up to 80% of their budget on social care and say costs are rising and increasingly unsustainable

Cuts ruin lives and raise costs. This scandal is already playing out in the system, and it should be a warning to Labour, says Guardian columnist John Harris

Although Cameron and Osborne have been rebranded as Tory moderates, look back to 2010 and you’ll see how much devastation they truly caused, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

Childcare features prominently in both major parties’ plans for work and personal finance. Keir Starmer wants to make early-years provision as universal as possible while the Conservatives claim they’re already transforming childcare and increasing funding to both boost children’s development and get mothers back to work.