Coming to Parliament with her three-month-old baby, British MP Stella Creasy was called to order. Faced with criticism, the institution promised Wednesday to review its rules imposed on elected officials becoming parents. Deeming "
extremely important
" that young parents can participate fully in parliamentary work, Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle said "
the rules must be seen in context
" and that they "
change over time
". He announced that a committee would look into the matter so that "
the House can finally decide
" after being seized by MP Alex Davies-Jones about an event that had left her, along with other mothers, "
extremely worried
”.
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The reason ?
The call to order received the day before by her colleague Stella Creasy, who came with her baby Pip wisely asleep to participate in the debates.
The opposition Labor MP posted on Twitter a photo of an official email telling her that House of Commons rules stipulated that an MP could not come "
accompanied by a child
".
“
Apparently I can't come with my well-behaved and sleepy three-month-old baby when I speak in the House,
” she tweeted.
"
It would seem that mothers are not to be seen or heard in the mother of all parliaments
."
Maternity "
reprimanded
"
The way in which deputies and other women politicians reconcile their work and the life of young parents has been under scrutiny for some time in several countries. In 2018, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern became a symbol of working mothers by bringing her baby Neve to the UN General Assembly in New York. Since then, a Danish MP had been asked to leave her hemicycle with her five-month-old daughter. "
We don't want you with your baby in the Parliament Chamber
," the president of the chamber, Pia Kjærsgaard, told him. In the UK, it is officially forbidden to take your child to the House of Commons. Last year, however, Lindsay Hoyle allowed MP Alex Davies-Jones to come with her baby.
Stella Creasy herself, who has long campaigned for a better inclusion of mothers in politics, had already come with her son or previously her daughter.
She had thus appeared in the House of Commons at the end of September with her newborn baby to demand that mothers be supported rather than "
reprimanded
" when they returned to Parliament.
Speaking to Times Radio, Stella Creasy “
welcomed
” the promised changes: “
It's not rocket science to understand why there are not many parents of young children, and even fewer mothers, within our political class
”.
"
Absurd
"
rule
The Labor MP received a lot of support: Green MP Caroline Lucas denounced an “
absurd
”
rule
and mischievously pointed out that babies in Parliament are generally “
much less disruptive than many bawling MPs
”.
There are, however, “
divergent views
” on the issue, as the Speaker pointed out.
“
Parents who get paid a fraction of what you earn pay for child care and juggle responsibilities so they can go to work.
What makes you so special?
Conservative Scott Benton asked on Twitter.
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For Stella Creasy, however, the question arises all the more so as British MPs do not benefit from real maternity leave, since they do not have the right - unlike ministers since February - to have someone them. replace during their six-month leave. "
The people of (my constituents) would be deprived of representation if I stopped working
"
,
she said in the Guardian, saying that a "
three month old baby is too young to be left alone
".
The government has said it is generally in favor of modern and flexible workplaces, as it should be in the 21st century, according to a spokesperson for Boris Johnson who declined to say whether the PM intends to take his son Wilfred, born in April 2020.