Hustings event discussed Early Learning and Childcare in the lead up to the Scottish Election 2026
Published: 23 April 2026
23 April 2026: In collaboration with Pregnant Then Screwed, the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Public Policy co-hosted a hustings event on Friday 10 April, challenging Scotland’s political parties on early learning and childcare.
23 April 2026: In collaboration with Pregnant Then Screwed, the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Public Policy co-hosted a hustings event on Friday 10 April, challenging Scotland’s political parties on early learning and childcare.
In collaboration with Pregnant Then Screwed, the event brought together a panel of senior figures from political parties. Speakers gave their take on how their party might look to address childcare and early learning policies, should their party come into government.
Political panel
Hosted by the Centre for Public Policy’s Associate Director Professor Kezia Dugdale, the panel consisted of:
- Holly Bruce for the Scottish Green Party, standing in Glasgow Southside (Councillor in Glasgow City Council for Langside)
- Meghan Gallacher for the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, standing in Uddingston and Bellshill (Party Spokesperson on Housing)
- Willie Rennie for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, standing in Fife Northeast (Party Spokesperson on Education, Economy & Communities)
- Vonnie Sandlan for the Scottish Labour Party, standing in Glasgow Central
- Graham Simpson for Reform UK in Scotland, standing in Airdrie
- Kaukab Stewart for the SNP, standing in Glasgow Southside (Minister for Equalities)
What happened?
The discussion was opened by Professor Kezia Dugdale, asking the panel to set out their thoughts on the current childcare system policies in Scotland, and what their own party ambitions would be if in government.
Questions from the public and audience members were introduced, covering restricted hours of childcare, delayed entitlement to childcare hours, location (particularly rural) disparity, cross-border problems and families in Scotland having to sign up children to childcare places before they are even born.
These topics were opened to the panel to set out how they will address these issues.
Other audience themes covered voucher schemes, and the need for tailored support for single parent families and families with children who have additional support needs.
The panel rounded up the discussion outlining a summary of how their party - if in government - would look to address the issues in the current system.
Want to catch up on the event?
Visit the Pregnant then Screwed website to watch the event in full.
Read Centre for Public Policy Evaluation Report on childcare policy
The Centre for Public Policy published an Evaluation Report on 2 April 2026, based on research by the Centre and commissioned by Pregnant Then Screwed. It assesses the impact of a policy decision by City of Edinburgh Council to restrict access to childcare provision for ‘cross boundary families’, offering learnings for future policy development and implementation.
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First published: 23 April 2026
Read Centre for Public Policy Evaluation Report on childcare policy
The Centre for Public Policy published an Evaluation Report on 2 April 2026, based on research by the Centre and commissioned by Pregnant Then Screwed. It assesses the impact of a policy decision by City of Edinburgh Council to restrict access to childcare provision for ‘cross boundary families’, offering learnings for future policy development and implementation.
