Andrew Castle: 'Women are discriminated against because they have babies - fact'

18 March 2023, 14:22 | Updated: 18 March 2023, 14:26

LBC: Andrew Castle: Women are discriminated against because they have babies

Following Jeremy Hunt's Spring Budget announcement which included the 30 hours of free childcare being extended to children from nine months old, Andrew Castle had some questions about how much stay-at-home mothers in particular are valued in society.

"Do we value mothers who are not actually going to work?" Andrew Castle asked.

"Why has everything got to have an economic value?" he continued, adding that it was pushing a mentality that they are "not contributing" unless they are working and filling government coffers.

READ MORE: Spring Budget 2023 childcare: What did Jeremy Hunt say about childcare?

"Why? 'Because we want your money' - is that what this is about?" Andrew went on. "What about children - what's right for them? Have we asked that question enough?"

Journalist Jonathan Lis says the way childcare is treated in the UK is a 'national scandal'.

He then definitively stated that "women are discriminated against because they have babies", which is something one can see "all the time", adding that generally speaking they are "less argumentative" and "not as horrible and demanding as men", leading this debate to go "on and on and on".

READ MORE: Childcare reform: When can you claim new 30 hours free childcare for one and two-year-olds?

Prior to the Chancellor's reforms of the childcare system, journalist Jonathan Lis had told LBC that the way it was being treated in the UK was a "national scandal".

He then listed examples of how it works in countries "comparable" to the UK in their economies and liberal democracy, including Finland's "universal childcare from the age eight months to seven years", Sweden's monthly allowance means parents pay "only £15 a month for daycare" and in Norway it's a "maximum of £200 a month".