Keir Starmer has unveiled as plan for children to be supervised by teachers when they brush their teeth, in a renewed defence of the "nanny state".
He announced plans to improve child health under a Labour Government, arguing that children are "probably the biggest casualty" of the last 14 years of Conservative Government.
The Labour leader claimed that, if the Government were a parent, they could be charged with neglect.
Speaking ahead of a visit to a children's hospital, Starmer said: "The moment you do anything on child health, people say ‘you’re going down the road of the nanny state.’ We want to have that fight."
The Labour leader claimed that, if the Government were a parent, they could be charged with neglect
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He continued: "I don’t think you can simply say, ‘Well, that’s none of our business.’
"It is our business because it’s the health of the child. But also, once you’ve got a child admitted to hospital, it’s costing the taxpayer a fortune.
“I’m not saying it’s the state and not parents, it’s got to be both, but just to sort of walk on the other side and say, ‘It’s not our responsibility, who cares if six- to 10-year-olds are going into hospital with tooth decay?’
"I’m up for that fight."
In a comment piece for the Guardian, Starmer added: “More children are becoming unhealthy, with two in every five leaving primary school overweight.
"But most damning of all, the number one reason for young children being admitted to hospital is to extract rotten teeth – because it is so difficult to get NHS dental treatment before tooth decay sets in.
“And incredibly, after 14 years of the Tories, the rise in life expectancy has stalled.”
Labour's plans, which Starmer has said are fully costed, would see mental health support provided in every school, along with community mental-health hubs aimed at under-25s and 8,500 new mental-health professionals recruited.
But Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, warned: "We remain somewhat sceptical about how this will work in practice.”
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He added: "Labour’s focus on and proposals for greater mental-health support are welcome, but it must be recognised that significant investment will be required to rebuild the health and support services that have been so eroded over the last decade."
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, welcomed the plans, but warned the Labour Party: "All of this needs to be properly resourced – with sufficient staffing and funding to ensure that these pledges become reality, and a sensible delineation of expectations on schools, healthcare and parents."