Labour must attract older women voters

—Labour’s success in closing the ‘gender gap’ – the historic tendency of women to favour the Conservatives – was crucial to our three general election victories after 1997.

In stark contrast to Labour’s achievements in government, like extended maternity leave and pay, greater flexibility at work and transformed access to childcare, the Tories have badly let women down. Yvette Cooper and Gloria De Piero have shown how the Tories’ tax and benefit changes have hit women four times harder than men. Children’s centres have closed and maternity pay has been cut in real terms. Yet at the same time David Cameron has given a £3bn tax cut to the top one per cent of earners – 85 per cent of whom are men.

Women are also bearing the brunt of the Tories’ failure on public services: the shortage of primary school places has left many parents scrambling to get their children into the school of their choice. Since the government scrapped Labour’s guarantee of a GP appointment in 48 hours, many working women have found they cannot even get to see a doctor in the same week. Women in their 50s and 60s who help look after their elderly parents have seen vital support like home care visits cut to the bone.

We know that winning with women and securing a Labour government means focusing on the concerns and aspirations of working- and middle-class voters: the coalition of support that was critical to Labour’s last three election victories and which remains essential in 2015.

However, the economic pressures of the last few years mean things are much tougher for women now than they were when we were in government, and being middle class feels less secure than it did before. Caroline Flint argues that ‘Worcester Woman’, the archetypal middle-class, middle England voter that the last Labour government sought to appeal to, has now been joined by ‘Aldi Mum’: working longer hours, cutting back on ‘extras’ and keeping a closer eye on the family budget. These women want a credible alternative to the Tories, and hope that a Labour government will help families build a better life for themselves in future.

That is why Labour will make tough choices on spending, deliver a surplus on the current budget and get the national debt falling as soon as possible in the next parliament. We will make work pay, expand free childcare for all working parents with three- and four-year-olds and guarantee before- and after-school clubs for primary school children.

Alongside our policies to help families with children, Labour will also champion a new agenda for older women. Electorally, this is a crucial group whose support we must attract. In 2010 they were less likely than younger women to support Labour. Recent polls indicate that Labour’s lead among women decreases with age. Indeed, women over 55 are only marginally more likely to support Labour than men of the same age. We can and we will do more to get our message across to these voters.

I know from my conversations on the doorstep that there are many older women who are very concerned about the future. Some have voted for the United Kingdom Independence party or are thinking of doing so. They are worried about whether their children will find work or get a decent home, and what the future will be like for their grandchildren. I have found that talking with women about Labour’s plans to ensure there are good jobs in every area, to transform skills and training, and build more affordable homes can make a real difference in persuading them to think again.

One of the things that often comes up in my conversations with older women is caring for an elderly or frail parent. Labour’s Older Women’s Commission rightly says that this is one of the biggest issues facing women in their 50s and 60s. Sixty per cent of Britain’s six million unpaid family carers are women, and many feel really stretched because they are caring across the generations: looking after their elderly mum or dad and helping out with their grandchildren too.

For working carers, this struggle often becomes too much. One in three have to give up work or reduce their hours because they cannot get the support they need. Their income suffers, employers lose vital skills, and it costs the public purse over £1bn a year in lost tax revenues and increased benefits.

Labour understands that work and family life is changing as our population ages. So just as the last Labour government put childcare at the top of the agenda and promoted flexible working for parents, the next Labour government will champion better care for elderly and disabled people and more flexible working for family carers too.

Public bodies like the NHS must do more to actively identify carers and get them the right help and support. Carers want better quality information, brought together in one place, so they are not pushed from pillar to post. Carers also need far more flexible working. A future Labour government will consult with employers, trade unions and carers’ organisations on how to achieve this, including looking at new ‘adjustment leave’: a short-term period of leave or flexibility to help employees deal with an immediate crisis in care and to allow time to adjust to a new caring role.

These measures will be supplemented by improvements in the quality of care, including by integrating local NHS and care services, ending inappropriate 15-minute home care visits and improving skills and training for the paid care workforce – many of whom are women too.

It is practical, credible changes like these that Labour will take out to school gates and doorsteps in every community between now and the general election.

———————————-

Liz Kendall MP is shadow minister for care and older people

———————————-

Photo: Ollie G