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Labour leadership hopeful Jess Phillips is calling for a national childcare service to be established to give help to all families.

Writing exclusively for the Mirror, Ms Phillips calls for “Scandinavian-style universal childcare”.

She writes: “After the war, the 1945 Labour Government created the NHS. It was a simple idea that none of us can imagine living without: nobody should be ill because they can’t afford medical care.”

She goes on: “In the years ahead I want people to look back and ask: how did we manage before National Universal Childcare?”

Firing a broadside at the Labour manifesto voters rejected last month, she writes: “Winning back trust means we can’t have a never-ending shopping list of promises that people don’t believe.

“I will prioritise childcare to support mums, dads, nans and grandads, in the knowledge that their kids and grandkids are in good hands.

(Image: Getty Images)

“Like they do in Scandinavia.”

Ms Phillips has already secured the 22 nominations needed so she can progress to the next stage of the contest.

Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer, Shadow Business Secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey and former Shadow Energy Secretary Lisa Nandy have also made it through.

The other contenders, Shadow Treasury Minister Clive Lewis and Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry, have until 2.30pm on Monday to reach the threshold. Ms Thornberry said she was “fairly confident” she will get the numbers needed.

On BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show, she said: “From the conversations I have had this weekend I am fairly confident that, as long as I don’t get any slippage, I will be fine. I am going to get across the line.

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“It is a long contest and it will have its ups and downs.

“I have been a slow starter, but I did start from a standing start after the general election.”

She added: “I come from a long line of tough old birds and there have been lots

of tough old birds in the Labour Party. It would be great for there to be one who becomes leader.”

In a speech today, Ms Nandy will pledge to rebuild “the red bridge” and put Labour back into power.

On BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend yesterday, she said: “Throughout our entire Labour history, we have never achieved real change in this country by taking the path of least resistance.

“We have to go out, win the argument and to do that most of all we have to make the argument.

“For the last few years what we’ve had is a vacuum of leadership across the party over issues like Brexit.

“And because of that what you’ve tended to find is that in both Leave and Remain areas the only way that our activists and our councillors could persuade the public that they were on their side was to stand against the national Labour Party.”

Jeremy Corbyn ’s successor will be announced on April 4.

Opinion piece by Jess Jess Phillips, leadership candidate

Last week, a voter said to me: “How can we trust Boris Johnson to look after the interest of our kids when he’s not even honest with us about how many kids he’s got himself?” We can’t,” I said.

But at the moment the voters don’t trust us either. And we have to fix that.

As a young mum – I had my first son at 22 – who relied on tax credits and Sure Start centres, I know the difference a Labour Government can make.

Labour’s family policies were a financial lifeline for us, but also a reminder someone cared, that Government wanted to help people like us.

(Image: Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

A decade of Tory cuts has left people without hope that things can be better, that politics can help you.

Winning back trust means we can’t have a never-ending shopping list of promises. I will prioritise childcare to support mums, dads, nans and grandads, in the knowledge kids and grandkids are in good hands. Like in Scandinavia.

"Does anyone believe the Tories would provide free-at-the-point-of-delivery Scandinavian-style childcare?

Boris Johnson has never showed much interest in looking after children.

After the war, the 1945 Labour Government created the NHS.

It was a simple idea that none of us can imagine living without: nobody should be ill because they can’t afford medical care.

"In the years ahead I want people to look back and ask: how did we manage before National Universal Childcare?