To think taking a baby to Parliament is ridiculous?

[iawbuwes]

Stella Creasy MP taking her baby to the Commons - I think it is utterly ridiculous.

Everyone else has to find childcare. Labour have lost the plot and don’t seem to care what people think (I say this as a life long Labour vote who cannot stomach voting for Labour as it now is). Parliament even have a nursery! www.parliament.uk/about/working/nursery/

@Duckrace

What retrogressive nonsense. And ending a sentence with "no?" is ridiculous.

What's the correct way to end a sentence? Apologies, I am not too fluent in English, and am sometimes copying sentence structures from languages I know better.

@iawbuwes

At the very least she should have someone who can hold the baby when she is speaking. I object to the image of woman tied to baby, it drags all of us down because it suggests that as mothers this defines us. The fact that she is standing up with a baby in a sling just feels like making a point for the sake of it. Honestly all working women juggle (even those without maternity leave)

It's not a race to the bottom though is it?

Women shouldn't have to suffer. Men don't.

I think being attached to her baby shows that she's capable of being more than a mother. That only women can be mothers. That this is a womens issue. That women are proportionately disadvantaged when it comes to being an active participant in politics.

Politics needs more female representation because otherwise we're going to be swamped by misogyny even further, and the only way to do that is to make reasonable adjustments for women of childbearing age so that they can do their responsibilities without being discriminated against because of their sex, pregnancy or breastfeeding status.

@forinborin but it can be accommodated, that is the point. Not sure if you missed this or are deliberately ignoring it so I'll write it again.

There is a solution, apologies its not magical but boringly straightforward. Allowing voting by proxy or online which has been previously allowed when it's suited men.

This would allow her to have a proper maternity leave. She is not campaigning to allow her to bring her children to work - her older child goes to childcare, and this one will when she returns to work but she is currently on maternity leave. There is a perfectly workable solution that has been availed of before, that does not require

1. Constituents to not be represented
2. Her 3 month old breastfed baby to be separated from her
3. Her baby to be in the HoC

But somehow refusing the simplest, previously used solution isn't being seen as awkward? Hmm.

[quote NamechangeApril21]@forinborin but it can be accommodated, that is the point. Not sure if you missed this or are deliberately ignoring it so I'll write it again.

There is a solution, apologies its not magical but boringly straightforward. Allowing voting by proxy or online which has been previously allowed when it's suited men.

This would allow her to have a proper maternity leave. She is not campaigning to allow her to bring her children to work - her older child goes to childcare, and this one will when she returns to work but she is currently on maternity leave. There is a perfectly workable solution that has been availed of before, that does not require

1. Constituents to not be represented
2. Her 3 month old breastfed baby to be separated from her
3. Her baby to be in the HoC

But somehow refusing the simplest, previously used solution isn't being seen as awkward? Hmm.[/quote]
I agree it is a solution. I don't know why it is not considered this time if it worked well last time. Maybe it actually did not work as well as expected last time - I don't think this is something the wider public would know about.
My objection was to the image of a mother bringing her baby to work to do her job, which I did not think actually advanced women's workplace rights at all.

@forinborin but there’s been no suggestion that SC is pushing to continue to work this way after her maternity entitlement has ended. It’s six months out of years building a career.

If she was a surgeon would it be acceptable to leave her list of patients without a replacement whilst she had maternity leave? If she was a pilot her routes wouldn’t just be withdrawn for six months. If she was a barrister her cases wouldn’t be archived until her return. SC is arguing it’s unacceptable to leave her constituents without representation for six months and it’s unacceptable to expect her to waive her right to maternity leave so that doesn’t happen. She’s not asking for the impossible.

You don't know what feminist means, stop pretending. You are the worst kind of misogynist.

My objection was to the image of a mother bringing her baby to work to do her job

And there we have an example of how the media dictates politics and skews perception. The debate was never about enabling MP’s to bring their babies into parliament it was about the lack of cover for long term leave.

Of the reports I heard yesterday there was a focus on the baby being fed in parliament (never happened and pure what if’ery), what would happen if the baby needed changing (same thing that would happen if she needed the toilet I imagine) and very little about the fact SC was still dealing with constituent issues immediately before and after the birth of her child because if she goes awol her constituents have no representation.

Regardless of how you feel about the whole baby debacle the fact she has not abandoned her constituents is admirable and she is right to highlight the issue imho.

[quote wincarwoo]@iawbuwes pretty much dictionary.

Where's her partner? 😂😂😂. You really are from another era. [/quote]
Oh yes, having the father of your baby around is so last century.

I agree it is a solution. I don't know why it is not considered this time if it worked well last time. Maybe it actually did not work as well as expected last time - I don't think this is something the wider public would know about.

It worked fine, it was closed down by a man, the same man who objected to it in the first place and wanted MPs including CEV MPs from remote parts of the country to travel in and vote in person during lockdown. He was supported by similarly minded men who bleat about "tradition" when they mean "boys club rules".

The approach to managing voting in this way had been successful, much as many other businesses were dragged into the late 20th Century by covid.

People are still going on about how this woman must fit in with the rules just like all the other good little women do whilst ignoring that "the rules" are originated in a workplace designed for men and not women. Its divide and rule - we spend so much time policing each other to fit in to a patriarchal world we forget to challenge the basic premise.

So she also took her baby to a night out too. Someone give this woman an award for being the first person ever to bear a child. She’s done something so amazing that everyone must applaud her and praise her.

@sst1234

So she also took her baby to a night out too. Someone give this woman an award for being the first person ever to bear a child. She’s done something so amazing that everyone must applaud her and praise her.

Whoosh

I dunno, it is annoying when women have a baby and think they’re the first and it does dilute mat leave. Stella shouldn’t be working. She creates the impression for all of us that mat leave is not important and we can just bring our babies to work. No problem!
What happens in long term sick for mp’s? The arguments re. Constituents are the same re. Representation but I bet no one thinks mp’s on long term sick should be voting from their hospital beds. I know new mums aren’t “sick” but they may have just had a traumatic birth plus as we all know caring for a newborn night and day is exhausting. Leave new mums alone to enjoy their mat leave in peace

If as an MP you’re unable to fully serve your constituents, stand down. Or at least give your constituents the choice!

A PP gave the example of surgeons or barristers being replaced while they’re on mat leave. True, but their clients have the choice of who to replace them with and whether to take the previous provider back when they return!

I've since changed my mind. It's no real problem really so why not? Most of the whining and crying comes from the elderly males.

A nanny might cancel at last minute.