There's a ‘mother-shaped hole’ in the UK as society 'forces' mothers to work in fierce childcare debate

There's a ‘mother-shaped hole’ in the UK as society 'forces' mothers to work in fierce childcare debate

Charlie Downes spoke about the childcare system

GB News
Gabrielle Wilde

By Gabrielle Wilde


Published: 02/02/2024

- 10:38

Updated: 02/02/2024

- 10:46

A £1,000 sign-on bonus for childcare workers has been announced today to encourage more people to work in the sector

Political commentator Charlie Downes has said that there is a "mother-shaped hole in the UK" because mothers have been forced to work due to the cost of living crisis.

It comes as the government has announced a £1,000 sign-on bonus for childcare workers to encourage more people to work in the childcare sector after worries the sector would not be able to cope after free 15 hours were given to 2-year-old children.


Speaking to GB News, Downes said: "Author Mary Harrington said that feminism has a mother-shaped hole in it. I think that's quite right.

"Because what has women's liberation been in the final analysis, but the ability for women to become corporate drones like the rest of us?

Anne Diamond, Stephen Dixon and Charlie Downes

Charlie Downes claimed that it is a "damning indictment of our society"

GB News

"I think it's depressing. That is the case for both mothers and fathers to have to work to survive.

"I think that it is a damning indictment of our society.

"Because that's not how it should be. It's not the way it's ever been. And that's the way it is because we do live in this kind of managerial society, whether it's the government or the corporation.

"Everybody has numbers on a spreadsheet. Everyone's essentially the same. Everyone's fungible, everyone's just an economic unit that can be moved around.

A child takes on a creative task at school

The government has revealed a £1000 cash incentive for childcare workers

PA

"That's the thing about the childcare providers themselves, anybody is going to sign up for this now because there is this cash incentive.

"In the eyes of the government and the services, they're just going to that they're all the same, right?

"Functionally, they're all the same when in fact there are going to be people who shouldn't be in this line of work, but who are because of the cash incentive."

He added: "I don't mean it to sound like a broken record, but for me, it comes down to the fact that we're bringing millions of people every year into our country.

"Whether it's childcare or school spaces, the space on the roads, public transport or the NHS for goodness sake.

Anne Diamond, Stephen Dixon and Charlie Downes

Charlie Downes spoke to GB News

GB News

"It's always this an issue of demand, not of supply, because, 50 years ago this wasn't a problem. There's just so much more demand now and we can't fill it and everything's kind of slowly grinding to a halt.

"The reason for that has to be immigration. I mean, where else is the demand coming from? It's certainly not coming from the native British population.

"There was a time when childcare was not even really a concept that people thought about.

"The social fabric was such that you could leave your child with a neighbor, you could leave a child with a grandparent or even better, at home with the mother.


"But it's very sad to see this and I don't think the stories are willing to address the root of the problem, which as I said, I think is immigration."

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