MPs have adopted proxy voting for new parents as a permanent policy, which will guarantee the right of MPs’ constituents to have their voice and vote recorded in Parliament, even when physically they have to be elsewhere.
On 23rd September 2020, MPs adopted proxy voting for new parents as a permanent policy.
This is a hugely significant change which will guarantee the right of MPs’ constituents to have their voice and vote recorded in Parliament, even when physically they have to be elsewhere.
The Centenary Action has long called for the introduction of permanent proxy voting for baby leave, joining the voices of a number of formidable women MPs from across the House, such as Harriet Harman and Maria Miller.
The Procedure Committee report, published earlier this month, which Centenary Action submitted written and oral evidence to, found that proxy voting had been “to the benefit of Parliamentary democracy” and they had heard “no arguments against the principles of proxy voting for parental absence, and encountered no fatal flaws in the scheme”.
The need for proxy voting was first highlighted when the pairing agreement Jo Swinson had while on maternity leave was broken by her pair. That Tulip Siddiq MP was forced to delay her scheduled caesarean in order to attend Parliament for a crucial Brexit vote further evidenced the need to change such outdated procedures.
This has never been a party-political demand. It is a practical step, a small procedural change which will help eradicate the unfair practices in parliament that fail to consider the gendered division of child care and how it acts a major barrier to women’s involvement in political life, especially women from a lower socio-economic background.
As a next step, Centenary Action is calling on IPSA to introduce a formal process of securing cover for parental leave.
Together, we can ensure that no one has to choose between being a politician or a parent.