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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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

@HardbackWriter

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

She could have arranged a nanny for the day, or got the father to have the baby for an hour, or if it's like anywhere I've ever worked there would be people in her office who would be happy to have a cuddle with the baby while she went in and did her speech. Looking at the parliament channel most MPs don't seem to make long speeches.

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.

Sarah Ditum in the Times today

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

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.

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.

@Lovelyricepudding

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?

You're coming across as calling me a liar. Are you? The speech was about abortion rights in NI. Her child was making noises and she's said something like, my daughter agrees with me.

@KimikosNightmare

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.

I agree with you.

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?

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

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

@AlfonsoTheUnrepentant

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

That's rubbish, sorry.

Depends entirely on job/profession.

@TooBigForMyBoots

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

Oh don't be ridiculous. Nobody is saying anything of the kind.

I can think of very few jobs where it's appropriate to take children to work.

A male boss of mine used, occasionally, to have his son in the office after school if there was a childcare emergency. His son was old enough to be left to get on with his homework without needing supervision or interrupting his father's work but too young to be left at home.

But beyond that- you're either doing your job or looking after your children.

@ChattyLion

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.

All of this.

Even if it turns out that it's not possilbe to resolve this particular situation, I can't see why she's attracting such opprobrium for even daring to raise the question.

What if families were more integrated into working life? Is it so impossible, for all situations?

Since the Industrial Revolution the family has become atomised, and society more and more divided up. Those fractures have enormous societal repercussions - some positive and some negative.

I 'homeschooled' while wfh, like many others, over the pandemic. It was fucking awful and frankly, largely impossible. But it's surely always worth considering different ways to how society could look? Is it really necessary to strictly divide home and professional life, always?

That's not taking a child to the workplace; it's dealing with an unanticipated childcare issue. Luckily, the child in question was old enough to look after himself and did not require his parent's full attention.

My former workplace made it clear that no children were allowed as there were health and safety and insurance liability issues.

I can think of loads of jobs where it's fine. All the self employed women (and some men) I know have taken their children to work at some point. Of course it's not suitable if you are performing surgery or drilling the road, but doing paperwork, research or voting can be done with a baby in tow.

Nobody is saying anything of the kind.
Yes they are. Shes been called "entitled", "attention seeking" and the obligatory "do the same as the rest of us plebs" race to the bottom. The sort of misogynist bullshit likely to be seen on Red Pill or 4Chan.

@TooBigForMyBoots
but doing paperwork, research or voting can be done with a baby in tow.
They haven't forbidden her from taking her baby into her offices, they have just said she can't take children into the debating chamber.

I can think of loads of jobs where it's fine. All the self employed women (and some men) I know have taken their children to work at some point. Of course it's not suitable if you are performing surgery or drilling the road, but doing paperwork, research or voting can be done with a baby in tow

"Doing paperwork"

I was "doing paperwork" on a multi- million pound contract last week. I couldn't do that and look after a small child at the same time.

What are these "loads of jobs where it's fine"?