Britain's opposition Conservatives, led by Kemi Badenoch, have proposed scrapping the £100,000 earnings cut-off for England's 30 hours of free weekly childcare, at an estimated cost of £700m a year to be funded by job cuts at bodies such as Arts Council England and the Environment Agency. Announced the day before the party's conference in Birmingham, the plan is pitched as removing a "cliff edge" that discourages parents from taking promotions or pay rises. Labour criticised it as favouring higher earners, and it follows other Conservative pledges, such as abolishing most stamp duty, that would disproportionately benefit wealthier households. (Note: the party is the UK Conservatives, not US ones.)