Labour rules out universal childcare for young children in fiscal credibility drive

Exclusive: party insiders say extra help for poorer families still on table as shadow ministers review policy options

Labour has ruled out offering universal free childcare for children over nine months old but is considering a means-tested offer, sources have told the Guardian, as the party strives to prove its fiscal credibility.

Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, told the Sunday Times earlier this year that Labour would guarantee childcare from the end of parental leave until the end of primary school, saying her reforms would resemble the birth of the NHS".