Stella Creasey forbidden from bringing her baby to Parliament

[ArabellaScott]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59396801

'"I've had a baby, I haven't given up my brain or capacity to do things and our politics and our policy making will be better by having more mums at the table," she added.'

Interesting to think how politics and daily life might be changed were it to be more mother (and child) friendly.

Sorry if I am wrong about Maternity Leave?! My understanding was that they didn't get it.

They get leave but cannot get appropriate maternity cover. She is speaking on Rdio 2 now, makes pefect sense.

Restricting maternity cover is making getting younger women interested in politics difficult.

But I guess some will prefer to be insulted by how she describes her son at any given moment!

MPs can take off as much time as they like after having a baby- there is no time limit. They are paid in full during this time.

MPs who have just had a baby can get a proxy vote where someone votes on their behalf.

There is a nursery onsite which is open until 1030pm to allow MPs to be in parliament.

MPs can get extra expenses towards staffing to help cover the cost of extra work in the constituency.

There are lots of other women MPs who do not support her campaigning on this- MPs are not employed. They are office holders, and their working conditions are not 'normal'. MPs know this when they take on the job. If she had her way, there'd be an unelected person in the House of Commons, while she stayed at home on full pay.

@Warmduscher SC tweeted that her 3-month-old is "well behaved" and therefore should be allowed in the HoC chamber.

Parliament is a forum for debate. That's the whole point and not helped by the squalling baby.

And there's a creche on site. So to be honest, I think it's the right decision.

It also begs the question, where is the father in all this? Can he not help out at all? It seems that Stella has a lot of options, more than most, but has chosen not to use any of them. If she wants to be fully attached to her baby at all times, maybe having a job isn't for her right now. That's a choice that is also open to her and a choice that lots of women with 3 month old babies take. However, if she wants to continue as an MP, serving her constituents and Country, she needs to put reasonable measures in place to make that work. Like the rest of us do and do with less help than her.

MPs can access debates remotely. They can vote by proxy whilst on parental leave.

So I don’t see why not allowing babies into the House of Commons means MPs are unable to represent their constituents.

What is far more likely to prevent MPs with new babies representing their constituents properly is the fact they have to look after a newborn so simply don’t have time to listen, consider, lobby etc. Juggling both may be easy as pie for Stella and her well behaved baby, but is rather harder for most new mothers.

We need a system of maternity cover for MPs. Not an unrealistic expectation that they continue to do their job in full with a newborn attached to them.

[quote EmmaGrundyForPM]@Warmduscher SC tweeted that her 3-month-old is "well behaved" and therefore should be allowed in the HoC chamber.[/quote]
Will SC be happy if the baby is called badly behaved if she/he cries? Or is fussy for whatever reason? I think the term was ill chosen. Not sure about the main issue.

@Cailleach1 exactly. She's really pissed me off with that argument which feeds into the narrative about babies who cry bring "difficult" or "manipulative". Or implying she's managing to keep her baby quiet because she's a super mother and the rest of it are just doing it wrong!

There’s a nursery though isn’t there? I can’t think of many jobs where you could come in with a 3 month old baby.

I assumed she did it to make a point.

@minipie

MPs can access debates remotely. They can vote by proxy whilst on parental leave.

So I don’t see why not allowing babies into the House of Commons means MPs are unable to represent their constituents.

What is far more likely to prevent MPs with new babies representing their constituents properly is the fact they have to look after a newborn so simply don’t have time to listen, consider, lobby etc. Juggling both may be easy as pie for Stella and her well behaved baby, but is rather harder for most new mothers.

We need a system of maternity cover for MPs. Not an unrealistic expectation that they continue to do their job in full with a newborn attached to them.

What do you think would be a good system?

In terms of representing constituents

Another case on MPs not living in the real world, I'd love to take my baby to work, but it would be distracting for me and everyone else.

@EmmaGrundyForPM

So she didn’t use the word “naughty” then? Thought not.

I'm also against.

Doesn't Stella Creasey have a husband?
Can't he hold the baby while she does surgeries and speeches?

Is her £80k+ salary with expenses and Second Home not enough to be able to afford child care?

She's being bizarre. Yes children need their mums. No children don't need to be brought into work.

[quote Warmduscher]@EmmaGrundyForPM

So she didn’t use the word “naughty” then? Thought not.[/quote]
Oh please- she described her baby as "well- behaved". It has been explained very clearly what is wrong with that choice of words.

She can take the baby to work, she can have the baby in her office or when she is voting and she can use the creche.

I think maternity leave is difficult, she would be getting paid even if she wasn't in parliament, if Geoffrey Cox can sod off to the Caribbean for months it doesn't seem like they have to be there every day.

What would happen with maternity leave? Does that mean you don't have representation in parliament for six months or as has been suggested is it OK if your elected representative just nominates someone else to do it? Do we want non elected MPs? I don't think I do.

I'm not sure what the answer is that is fair to everyone.

@HoardingSamphireSaurus

They get leave but cannot get appropriate maternity cover. She is speaking on Rdio 2 now, makes pefect sense.

Restricting maternity cover is making getting younger women interested in politics difficult.

But I guess some will prefer to be insulted by how she describes her son at any given moment!

How do you propose "maternity cover" would carried out here?

Letting an enelected person have access to and vote in the H of C?

Letting and unelected person have access to papers which may well have security and confidentiality issues?

If 13:44 poshme post is covered the situation is covered.

As for But I guess some will prefer to be insulted by how she describes her son at any given moment! - can you seriously not see what is problematic with what she said? A three months old baby is neither "well- behaved" nor "badly- behaved".

It makes her look smug and dim.

If13:44 poshmepost is correct the situation is covered.

I got six weeks at full pay. Then statutory which meant I could not possibly stay off work. I couldn't bring my baby to work - why is she so special? Work places are not somewhere you take babies - she needs to get child care like the rest of us

I don't actually have a problem with an MP, or anyone else, having a baby at work in some cases to breastfeed. Of course not all babies may be amenable to this.

I don't think there is anything wrong with this kind of arrangement in many jobs. Not all jobs are the same and we don't need to treat them as if they are. That is just making things difficult for parents for no good reason. Nor do we have to deny women have a physical attachment that is ongoing and different to the attachment men have, that's just a denial of biological reality to prove some abstract point that's false anyway. If a job can be combined with breastfeeding effectively for some mums, great.

That being said, as an MP there would I think that there would be a need for another carer and I am not keen on new babies in creches.

I'm not so sure I think MPs should be on maternity leave, or, for that matter, other types of long term sick leave. It's a unique job in that the public has elected that person, in particular, to represent them for a period of a few years. It's not a job like other jobs. I tend to think that if MPs are going to be unable to do so for a significant amount of time, they should resign and run again at a later time. I would hope that the public would understand that these things sometimes happen unexpectedly and not hold it against them, though I expect some would.

Being an MP isn't a secure position anyone can rely on financially, even always for the election period, so that element isn't a factor in the same way as for most jobs.

What's the problem with having a baby in the chamber?

This!
I find a lot of the reactions to be a bit knee-jerk. Just because it is not usually done or because there are some jobs where this would not work is no reason to reject someone that could be beneficial for all of us out of hand.

The workplace and the HoC was originally designed around men, but does it always have to be so?

Creasey's partner is Dan Fox. Beyond being a former director of Labour Friends of Israel, he has almost no online presence to indicate what he does.

@Coyoacan

What's the problem with having a baby in the chamber?

This!
I find a lot of the reactions to be a bit knee-jerk. Just because it is not usually done or because there are some jobs where this would not work is no reason to reject someone that could be beneficial for all of us out of hand.

The workplace and the HoC was originally designed around men, but does it always have to be so?

There is no need for her "well-behaved" baby to be there.

I think it's bonkers that there isn't some system to allow MPs to vote remotely. I remember Michael Heseltine being wheeled in in a hospital bed to vote after he had a heart attack and that must be more than 25 years ago.

I cant imagine the HoC chamber being a very good environment to have a newborn in considering the way MPs conduct themselves during some debates!