Labour MP Says "Unthinking Conservatism" Makes Life Difficult For Working Parents In Parliament
5 min read
Labour MP Josh Simons has said "unthinking institutional conservatism" continues to create barriers for parents working in Parliament, and wants to see improved paternity provisions for fathers in Westminster and across the UK.
On Wednesday, a group of fathers and campaign groups visited Parliament to call on the Government to improve the UK’s paternity provisions. A person whose partner is having a baby is entitled to a maximum of two weeks' paid leave — which is the least generous system in Europe.
Twenty nine Labour MPs have so far signed a letter calling for this change, organised by the new Dad Shift campaign, alongside more than 3,000 British dads.
The new Labour Government has committed to carrying out a review into parental leave policies, the findings of which are not expected for at least another year.
Simons, the new MP for Makerfield and former director of Starmerite think tank Labour Together, is one of the MPs supporting the campaign. He told PoliticsHome that as a father of two young children himself, he wants to be an “active dad” and think the “norms” around the involvement of fathers in family life are changing.
“My wife is an academic, her career is just as important as mine,” he said.
“She's not there to support me as a politician and pick up the pieces, and therefore with kids, my job is to be an equal co-parent.”
However, he said that Parliament was a “long way” from leading by example on paternity rights and that it was “absolutely ripe for modernisation”.
“One thing I've been struck by since being elected is there's a lot of unthinking institutional conservatism, where people insist that things must continue to be done in this way,” he said.
“And they don't really know why, around parental practices in particular.”
PoliticsHome previously carried out analysis of how often various women’s issues have been brought up in Parliament over the last few decades, with the results showing a positive “sea change” in parliamentary attention. Simons hopes that the high number of young parents – including fathers – elected in this Parliament will instigate change on paternity rights and general parental leave.
He added that the “massive” number of new MPs meant they felt more confident in talking about the challenges they face as working parents.
Secretary of State for Scotland and father-of-one Ian Murray spoke to the gathering of campaigners outside Parliament, with campaigner George Gabriel and MP Josh Simons pictured to the right (Alamy)
According to Simons, the WhatsApp group for new MPs is full of conversations about childcare: "Somebody for instance today said ‘I need to go meet a minister, can someone look after my young child for half an hour?’ And a handful of us are immediately texting: ‘Sure, what time?’”
Simons also described a play area room in Parliament where MPs can take their children: “It’s bleak as hell. There’s barely any toys in there, it’s freezing.”
“What do we have to do to make this place a family-friendly place, given the vast majority of people who stand up in Parliament now are people who have to look after family in some way.
“Whichever stone you turn, there are bizarre traditions that are barriers to it being a family-friendly place".
The Employment Bill, which was introduced to Parliament last week, will establish rights to bereavement and paternity and parental leave from day one. Simons and others campaigning for paternity rights hope this will be the first step of many towards “more secure, modern workplace practices”.
“Modern workplace practices are not only good for workers, they are good for businesses and growth too,” Simons said.
“The economic argument for good parental leave and for practices around it that allow both parents to be contributing to the economy is something I expect to hear more and more of. Paternity leave is good for mums, good for family, good for kids, but it's also good for the economy.”
He added that it was also important for politicians to be part of a cultural change around the perception of men and fatherhood.
"Part of why I care about this campaign is that how we talk about what it means to be a man in our society, we don't talk about it enough and in a constructive enough way,” he said.
“And being a dad is one way, one important way, to be a man that is embedded in like family links, that is positive – not some of the destructive stuff that we saw over the summer.”
George Gabriel, co-founder of the Dad Shift campaign, told PoliticsHome that the new bill was a “good start” and was optimistic that there were many MPs who would champion the cause.
“It's actually really cool, a very large number of the intake [of new MPs] are obviously young parents themselves, some are expecting, so for many of them it's a really personal issue,” he said.
“We obviously need to radically level up the provision given to new fathers and co-parents, because the evidence is really clear.
“We're excited by Labour's forthcoming review on parental leave. Labour has an opportunity to really be a party on the side of British dads. We really expect a significant levelling up in the UK’s parental leave policy through this review.
“If not, it'll be a major missed opportunity for a new Labour government that has pitched its tent so firmly on the ground of being on the side of working families.”
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