AIBU to wonder if a stay-at-home mum could become an MP?

[Questionsssss]

Do you think a degree educated, middle class 30 year old SAHM without any notable work history would ever have a chance at becoming a local councillor or MP? I feel like most MPs have either a local council or highly skilled professional background (law, finance etc). I’ve googled and I can’t find a single MP who has a SAHM background.

TBF I’d probably trust a well meaning SAHM more than I’d trust most of the MPs we currently have!

Thank you for this actual data!

It may be published in the Guardian, but the research is from Harvard Business School, which if anything leans slightly right. It is also one of the world’s top B Schools, decade after decade. Especially for research.

What do you make of the article, OP?

Given that so many Reform councillors have no idea what they’re talking about and/or resign after getting elected you should fit right in.
Lord help us if there’s ever a Reform majority government.

Why not try being a parish councillor first, and get some experience with local issues first.

That's a really blinkered view. Most of the SAHMs I know worked very hard before having children in their 30s in a variety of jobs including youth worker, teacher, engineer and vicar. All of which give knowledge that would be useful to an MP.

Not all of them were well off and lived very frugally. Some of them would have actually been paying to work if they'd gone back to work as their salary wasn't generous.

Anyway, OP, I would consider voting for a SAHM depending on what their party and policy was. I'm afraid I wouldn't consider voting for Reform though, whatever a person's background.

Certainly you can. The first thing to do is to contact the local association of your chosen party. Get involved with campaigning for the next election (May next year). From then on your association will help you along. Find out as much as you can about the local council and get involved with local issues. For example you might want to be involved in your children’s schools PTA, lobby councillors for better road safety outside the school, or volunteer to pick up litter on the local park.
These may sound trivial things but they are the bread and butter of local politics. Once you find your way around, volunteer to stand for the council. It is quite common for people who have been councillors to then go on to stand to be an MP.
Above all don’t put yourself down. Value your own experience - it is all relevant.
Good luck.

A healthy democracy needs councillors and MPs from all backgrounds who reflect the communities they serve.

Some resources which may be of interest both to the OP and to any other commenters who have been inspired to seek elected office by the, er, lively political discussion on this thread:

https://www.local.gov.uk/be-councillor

https://www.nalc.gov.uk/campaigns/becoming-a-councillor.html

https://www.elect-her.org.uk/

l think this research needs revisiting as the article is 11 years old and the research will be older, but it seems plausible- it only refers to mother's that work though, not single mother's- so that probzbly needs to be a different study.

The article relates to an hugue dataset.

According to the Harvard Business School, where a recent study looked at 50,000 adults in 25 countries, they found a massive positive impact on daughters of working mums. In fact, daughter of mums who went out to work, in addition to having higher employment rates overall, also have higher incomes and more supervisory roles as adults.

These studies take time to analyse the data and are for obvious reasons not published annually, but it does disprove the OPs assertion that working mothers are inferior to SAHMs.

The study adds further context:

Key findings regarding working mothers and their children include:

Career and Economic Benefits for Daughters: Daughters of working mothers earn more (roughly 4% more on average) and are more likely to hold managerial positions (1 in 3 vs. 1 in 4 for non-working mothers).

Greater Domestic Equality for Sons: Sons of working mothers grow up to be more involved in household chores and care for family members.

Role Modeling & Independence: Working mothers act as positive role models, promoting independence and resilience in children.

Focus on Quality Time: Many working parents prioritize quality over quantity of time spent with children, with studies showing little to no negative impact on child development and often better outcomes.

Compensatory Effects: Children of working mothers in lower-income or single-parent households often show higher achievements and fewer emotional issues.

politically, I disagree with your position but that’s ok; I believe in debate and challenge and tolerance of differing views. However, for you to say in one breath that people with mental health issues will benefit from being in the workplace whilst in the next that there should be tax breaks for SAHP sounds like you just have a downer on people that aren’t like you (ie wealthy enough to support a SAHP). You sound quite self-serving and lacking in empathy. I daresay you’d make a great Nigel protégé.

So if you have children and work you basically have to outsource childcare to a professional (nanny or daycare). A sahm is doing the work at source that other mums pay for. Since when was feeding, teaching, listening to and supporting young children not a worthwhile occupation that teaches you valuable life skills?

Being a SAHM shouldn't rule you out, but it depends on what the party you want to represent is looking for in candidates. I would start by talking to them and following their advice for how to make yourself attractive as a candidate up for selection. One thing I will say is that you will definitely need a thick skin and support at home. Do you already live in London OP, because if not it might be difficult if you have young children.

You should really state that this is AI rather than your thoughts.

PARENTS. Other PARENTS. Parenting/childcare is not a female only responsibility!

I think being a councillor/MP with being a SAHM as your background shouldn’t be an issue.

Being an actual councillor or MP as a SAHM would be difficult. What would you do with the child/ren whilst you should be in council or holding surgeries or canvassing or campaigning for your colleagues?

I see how hard it is for my MP going up and down to Westminster all the time being in Chambers but needing to be back in her constituency for surgeries, canvassing and campaigning. I see the late nights and early morning and all the travelling about to places.

You would need a lot of help with childcare. They aren’t jobs that you can do ‘whilst the baby sleeps’. Especially if you were an MP you’d probably need more than one Nanny and would you have the child/ren travelling with you between Westminster and home?

I don’t think it would be impossible in either case but it would be bloody hard work and possibly not terribly fair on the child/ren.

What policies would you introduce to facilitate this @Questionsssss? How would you lower the cost of living to make it practical for homes to rerun to one income?

And how does that work with @Questionsssss stance on mothers being the default stay at home parent?

The OP is entitled to her opinion. But her views are naive at best and no, I wouldn’t vote for her ever.

Given the calibre of Reform candidates I've noted, if you are sentient, you have an excellent chance of beating off competition to stand.
If you stand in a Reform supporting area, you will have a good chance of being elected if you simply turn up and spout about hard working British families and immigrant crime.
Presumably you are already a member of Reform if you are thinking if representing them, so no doubt know how to put yourself forward.
However, you do seem rather a single issue campaigner, and representing a party means you are tied to supporting their policies, as that's what voters have elected you to do.
Your constituents would no doubt be wanting you to 'stop the boats' rather than campaigning for better circumstances for high earners so their wives don't need to work.
Especially as many of your voting pool are likely to be low earners and/or benefit claimants expecting you to improve things for them rather than for people like you.
You would be better to stand as an independent and if your ideas had support people would vote for you.

If you want to do it it looks like you can just put yourself forward (for Reform) although presumably there is still some sort of selection process https://pro-worker.reformparty.uk/candidates/apply

Or work for a party in a policy role where you can influence the direction that party is taking.

But I agree with others that if you want to be a good MP, represent your constituency (all your constituents not just those that agree with/voted for you), then it's a tough job and incompatible with being a SAHM.

Wrong link sorry: https://join.reformparty.uk/parliamentary-candidates/apply

Fair enough. Absolutely. Point taken. It is undervalued and underrated probably in part because the majority of SAHP in the UK are female.

...would you be encouraging stay at home dads, or just incentivising women to stop having a professional identity, financial safety net, and enjoyable or fulfilling life outside the home? FFS

I mean, he didn’t win a seat (thank fuck) but Reform candidates have absolutely publicised the idea that women should be at home and not cluttering up the workplace with their feminist ideas. (Twats.)

nation.cymru/news/reform-uk-candidate-says-women-should-stay-at-home-and-look-after-the-kids/

Are you thinking of representing an established party or standing as an independent? If the former, I asssune you’re already a party member! Start by discussing with your local party whether you could put forward your candidacy for a local (borough, district or county) council vacancy. What would your manifesto look like - what could you offer? What are your particular interests? Education, early years, housing…?? Many MPs start as councillors (look at David Blunkett and countless others). It will give you the experience you’ll need for parliamentary candidature and also you’ll see if you enjoy “politicking”. If you decide to stand as an independent, you should have some very clear ideas you want to pursue on a local level.

Oh get in then, Reform will look after stay at home mums and women's rights, they champion women especially in that respect!
Disclaimer - sarcasm 🙄😁