Stella Creasey forbidden from bringing her baby to Parliament

Pesky, uppity woman. Someone should tell her that her place is at home with her babies.
Maybe her husband should take her shoes away.

It's not ok to bring children to your workplace, no matter your sex or profession.

So what’s the solution here. It can’t be banning babies from the chamber.
I agree there shouldn’t be a situation when employers start expecting women to bring in their newborn babies to work because that’s not realistic
Aren't these contradictory arguments? It's OK for MPs to bring babies into work but not OK for ordinary employees?

So what’s the solution here. It can’t be banning babies from the chamber

Yes it can. I haven't seen any sensible argument why a baby needs or should be in the Chamber.

She’s trying to make a point. She’s not using the chamber for childcare is she. It’s not a stupid point she’s making either. I’m glad she’s prompting this conversation. It’s very hard to be a new mum and an MP at the normal level of operation that we expect from our MPs. Are we all happy that new mums or mums with two small effectively can’t be MPs then if they want to have a family? I’m not. I really want more representation of the needs of mothers and young children in Parliament. How else do we get that?

So what’s the solution here. It can’t be banning babies from the chamber. It could be to set out a consensus on what maternity leave for an MP actually looks like and see whether that actually works for either MPs or their constituents.

I agree there shouldn’t be a situation when employers start expecting women to bring in their newborn babies to work because that’s not realistic- but I can’t think of any employers who would suggest that. I do think there should be a trial of employing maternity cover in the normal sense for MPs. The system was built when only men were envisaged to ever become MPs, that’s the problem she’s highlighting.

Sarah Ditum in the Times today

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/stella-creasy-isnt-doing-women-mps-any-favours-5pgkmn8wz?shareToken=dffdf156b57f96d35ca63e52db8dec6e

Not sure why there is so much talk of breastfeeding, she didn't breastfeed that baby in the HOC did she? Of course it is probably to well behaved to want to be fed during a speech.

I agree. As I've said - she has options; she just doesn't want to use them.

She also took baby to a boozy awards ceremony - its all just for show and click bait. She only gives a shit about what effects her.

Did she really need to take baby to a politics piss up? No.
Did she really have to take baby in the HOC? No.

But when she made the speech about NI, she wasn't holding a tiny sleeping baby. She was holding a seven month old that kept making noises. Still well-behaved and it could have been so much worse, but how can you concentrate on what you're saying whilst you're trying to keep your 7 month old quiet?

You remember she was holding a 7 month old baby who kept making noises. Do you remember what she said in the speech?

Why isn't he taking shared parental leave to have the baby til it's one. Why are you not demanding that form of equality?

That will work for some people, but a man cannot breastfeed. An older baby needs to be fed less often and is more likely to be able to use a bottle, so it becomes easier.

She is aiming to set a precedent for herself. If the baby can come in at three months, it can come in at six months, and 12 months and two years

Regardless of what she is trying to do, anyone with any knowledge of children knows that a 3 month old baby is very different to a 6 or even 4 month old baby.

She was holding a seven month old that kept making noises.

So there is an argument for making different rules for older babies.

The point is to find a workable balance for female MPs who have very young children, but because of the nature of their role as an elected representative still need to do their job.

but how can you concentrate on what you're saying whilst you're trying to keep your 7 month old quiet?

How can other people concentrate? Why don't they matter?

Then she needs to put him in the nursery. The point is that she has options but she decided not to use them but to make herself look like a victim.

She is aiming to set a precedent for herself. If the baby can come in at three months, it can come in at six months, and 12 months and two years becuause if she was allowed to do it before there's no reason she shouldn't be allowed to do it again.

This is her workplace and no matter what her job is it is not appropriate for her to bring her baby there while she is working.

I will note, though, that the nursery in parliament is a proper nursery, not a drop-in creche, so I think she would need to book a regular space, she couldn't have just decided to drop him in that day while she did her speech

I really don't understand the 'it's fine because he was asleep/quiet' argument. If she's saying that him not being allowed in would leave her constituents unrepresented then surely he needs to be allowed in even if he's screaming the place down - their representation shouldn't depend on a baby's nap! It's either vital that she attends or it isn't.

I do think her decision to make her locum being paid the same salary as an MP the hill on which she would die was either bizarre or self- promoting. It's really not that odd for the person covering a mat leave to be paid less than the permanent employee (I'm on mat leave currently and my mat cover is being paid less than my salary) and if anyone else said they therefore wouldn't take mat leave on principle the reply wouldn't be that they should just bring the baby to work as an alternative!

There is nothing in that very generous package being offered which should prevent any woman deciding to be an MP.

I had 1 month off before returning full time

Whether or not that was a deliberate choice, most women who want to have children would not choose to do that and would avoid any career or job where that was expected. That is a problem when you want more women to become MPs.

He is still a very small baby, and if he is fast asleep and unobtrusive, what is the problem if he is attached to his mother?

Sarah Ditum, while clearly not a fan of SC, does agree that “There’s probably a better compromise to be had on maternity leave”.

If women are to be better represented in government, the relevant comparison is not other mothers, but male MPs.