Women's Equality Party proposes free childcare

A policy of offering free childcare would get the economy moving for the benefit of all, the leader of the Women's Equality Party has said.

Speaking on the BBC's Daily Politics programme, Sophie Walker said her party would prioritise investment in the "social infrastructure" of the UK.

She said free childcare would transform lives, increase the tax base and mean fewer people on out-of-work benefits.

The party is fielding seven candidates in the general election.

Ms Walker told the programme the party was offering voters a "better option" than other parties, with candidates from diverse backgrounds bringing "new and fresh" voices.

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She said policies designed to work for women would result in a political system that worked better for everyone.

Investing in free childcare in the same way previous governments had invested in physical infrastructure, for example, would "have a positive knock-on for everyone in a very, very positive way".

She added that women in the UK still did not have the same options as men, with men still outnumbering women in Parliament, the continued existence of a pay gap between men and women and women suffering disproportionately from austerity measures.