Rachel Reeves MP and cabinet ministers taking maternity leave

[woeface]

Just saw this in the Mail about Rachel Reeves MP, who'd become Work and Pensions Secretary in the event of a Labour win at the election. She's pregnant, and would be going on maternity leave a month after taking up her post.

It makes me sad that this is considered newsworthy: I think that the real message is that women of childbearing age can't be trusted with powerful positions. Is it me, or do others feel uncomfortable too?

it should work for the people

Jo Swinson (consumer affairs minister and Libdem MP in Scotland) went on maternity leave and I think the MP for Cardiff Central whose name I've forgotten took over her ministerial responsibilities while she was on leave, not sure about her constituency office responsibilities though.

Just for clarification, my question; although prompted by the current news story could - and should - have been framed in gender neutral terms. As others have pointed out, it would affect MPs who take paternity leave too. Although, as an aside, I would just comment on how MPs are very quick to take advantage of legislation they introduce for the plebs, but are very slow to suggest the plebs enjoy the same privileges MPs do.

I was thinking about this before the article after reading an old article about a different female MP (can't remember name) who had been listed in something like "10 laziest MPs" by one of the tabloids. They had based it on voting record or attendance in Parliament, and hers was one of the lowest. However the reason was because she had been on maternity leave, and she had an arrangement with another MP to balance out votes.

I think the tricky aspect is when you're an MP, you know your job is a 5 year position which may or may not be extended, and the public know that too. So people jump to the idea of whether or not you will be working 'enough' by being on maternity leave for some of that time, and who will be doing your job when you're not there and the suitability of having someone unelected to cover. I haven't read the Telegraph piece, although I'm interested to look into it, I would like to know the reality of it. I wouldn't be surprised if female MPs are in touch with their role far more than someone in a more standard profession, like as another pp said would often be the case for careers above a certain level. When my director went on maternity leave she didn't have the same experience as me - in my first couple of weeks I got the odd call or email from my cover for questions that weren't covered in handover, and I had 9 months leave, for my director she was basically back to running the company within a month but just did less of the day-to-day.

She will defo be able to afford the 6k childcare fees.

I have a brother living in Germany where you get free childcare due to your tax going where it should.

They got a letter of apology one year because the organic food my niece was getting during childcare had gone up, they had to pay £20 a month instead of £18 a month, all in. The outrage.

I have an issue with the comments about childcare. Why is it her responsibility and not shared responsibility with the father?

Also, funny how she is using her mother and aunt for childcare. Given her high income I would have thought a FT nanny would be very affordable. Goes to show why our MPs are so far out of touch. How many of us have our parents providing FT care to our DC?!?! I would love to give her GBP6k and tell her to arrange childcare with that budget.

Lurkinghusband I am totally with you on this. I don't think anyone of childbearing age (ie under the age of 45), male or female, should be an MP. I know I don't have close to enough experience to be able to properly represent anyone I would be standing for and I think the role of the MP becoming a career is why our MPs are doing such a poor job.

Wow this thread contains some seriously depressing views.

Our mp spent most of last year being accused of and then on trial for rape. Pretty sure he didn't do much constituency business in that time, but we've all survived. Should we not have any male MPs in case they have to go off to court to defend their sexual conduct? No that's absurd. So why would we not have anyone of child rearing age?

How can being an MP become a career when it's not always so easy to hold on to a seat? Surely of the 650 of them, not that many are in for more than one or two terms with no guarantee of being able to return at a future election if they lose. The ones that have been there a long time (like Sir Peter Tapsell) surely started before people thought there was a 'career politician' rise.

I also don't see the problem with making politics your life's work. And we should be encouraging a diverse range of people to stand as candidates, not sticking to one demographic.

Sorry that was off topic a bit.

I really don't understand how people can be so against her taking ML after just becoming a minister (if Labour get in). She has stated she will be taking June to September, so she'll be absent for 3 months. MPs take their summer holidays during almost 2 months of those 3 months that she'll be gone. So she'll actually be on ML for ONE month. All those banging on about who is going to do her job in her absence, well who does ALL of the other MPs jobs in their absence when they're off sunning themselves abroad? She'll only be away for an extra month! I don't understand all the hype over it.

I wasn't objecting. I was just asking a question of how it might work.

She will have a full office if staff - both in the constituency and in Westminster - who will cover her constituency duties while she's on leave. In reality, they will do most of this now so are fully competent.

The point in taking on a new job just before you go on mat leave is that you will come back from mat leave and do that job, probably for a long time and bloody well.

It's a disgrace that some idiots think a woman should pass over opportunities to fulfill their potential just because they also want a family. I don't remember anybody saying David Cameron should have turned down being PM as he was planning a third child

Jo Swinson kept up with constituency work while on May leave, though decreased the face to face work. Jenny Willott covered her ministerial job.

It's a bit of a misconception that MPs have two months 'off' in the summer. The house rises for 6 weeks, and most decent MPs spend a good proportion of it doing constituency work. Some do more in their constituencies that others, of course.

In the interests of balance and slightly off topic but Rachel Reeves Is my local MP and she spends a lot of time in her constituency - more than any others I've had in the past

Also, it's hugely depressing that her mat leave is even being discussed in these terms. If Labour get and she holds a ministerial position we're talking about three months 'out of office' in five years. I'd imagine she'd have some pretty competent junior ministers or colleagues who could hold the fort for that amount of time.

Holden that's good to hear about the constituency.

The Belinda Brown "article" made me apoplectic. What.A.Total.Cow.Stuck.In.A.Timewarp.

I completely agree HoldenCaulfield80. If she's the best person for the Ministerial role for 5 yrs, then of course she should be entitled to take a few months maternity and return to doing it. It's a job like any other one.

It is a crying shame that David Cameron didn't make a point of sharing parental leave with Samantha. Presumably it would have put Clegg in charge for a couple of months which would have been a serious own goal for the Tories but could you imagine the change in attitudes it might have swung.

Whether they win and Rachel Reeves gets the opportunity is another matter entirely.

What a depressing state of affairs. Of course she's entitled to the leave she wants, she should take it, and I hope she has a wonderful time bonding with her baby. Those moments are precious and absolutely to be made the most of.

MPs have been having babies forever and I'm sure they have procedures in place to cope with one taking a month off. Jeez, it's 2015! This is not news and not an issue.

If the next election leads to tight Parliamentary arithmetic she may not be able to get a pair. The Whips of both parties don't care if they have to drag you there by ambulance - you can be nodded through the lobbies if you are in the precincts but not if you are not. The vote of no-confidence which led to the election in May 1979 (not that the Iron Lady would not probably have won a few months later when the election would have taken place) was won and lost on the Independent Irish Republican who turned up but then "abstained in person" and the Member who was too ill even for the ambulance journey and died the following week.

I imagine that a vote that crucial is unlikely early on in the parliamentary term though, and she could always have a KIT day if essential.

OOAOML On the contrary: a minority government has to get the Gracious Address through without amendments a few days after the House first meets. In March 1974 it was doubtful whether it would - if the various Nats had all decided to support the Opposition they would have brought the Government down.

What is a KIT day?

I am also in Rachel Reeves' constituency and some of the comments here are making me want to vote for her in May just on principle!

Seriously though, she's a really good constituency MP as well as being a high flyer in the shadow cabinet. She gets involved in local issues, and I know (via a friend of a friend who has local contact with her) that she genuinely cares about real people and wants to represent and help local people. I'm not a fan of New Labour at all, but I like her very much. The whole maternity leave thing is a total non issue to me.

I did a lot of work in her constituency earlier this year and I can also confirm that she spends a lot of time there and is very involved locally.
I like her too and think she's a good and hard working MP.

Andewofgg KIT means keeping in touch day. You're allowed to do a certain amount of them and get paid for it without it affecting your maternity leave as a whole (ie you are still on leave and don't trigger a return to work from going in).

Pregnancy is still regarded as a good news story. Even by tabs. And MP could hardly keep it secret.

i don,t think having a new born and having such a demanding job will work .yes i may get flamed for this but .if she is say out of the house 10/12 hrs everyday .when is she seeing the baby .we cant have it all no matter what we are told .