Commons backs plans to let pregnant MPs cast proxy vote after bitter row
2 min read
The House of Commons has backed plans to allow MPs to vote by proxy after a heated row over the way new and expectant parents are treated.
MPs absent from the chamber because of childbirth or the needs of a newborn or newly-adopted child will now be able to ask another member to cast their vote for them, under a one-year trial backed in a Commons vote on Monday night.
The move will also apply to mothers who have recently suffered a miscarriage after MPs backed an amendment from Conservative backbencher Philip Davies.
The trial comes after a number of instances of heavily-pregnant or new mothers being forced to attend the Commons in person to take part in key votes.
Labour MP Tulip Siddiq had to delay her caesarean and was wheeled into the House of Commons to vote against Theresa May's Brexit deal earlier this month.
That followed a bitter row last year over the longstanding "pairing" tradition that sees an MPs from another party promise not to vote if another is unable to attend.
Conservative chairman Brandon Lewis was forced to apologise to Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson - who had recently given birth - after he broke the pairing arrangement and voted in what he called an "honest mistake".
Speaking in the wake of MPs passing the change, Ms Swinson said the trial was "welcome and long overdue".
"No Member of Parliament should have to choose between ensuring their constituents are represented on important votes and caring for their newborn child," she added.
"The vote today marks a baby step in the right direction in bringing Parliament into the 21st century."
Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom hailed the move as "fantastic news for Parliament" and said it would help to make the Commons "a modern workplace to which more people from more diverse backgrounds" could come to represent constituents.
But Labour opposite number Valerie Vaz said more needed to be done to "drag Parliament into the twenty-first century".
"The Conservatives have dragged their feet on this important issue for too long," the shadow Commons Leader said.
"A trial is a step in the right direction, but Labour believes that proxy voting rights must be permanent and implemented immediately to ensure no MP is blocked from representing their constituency."
The Speaker of the Commons, John Bercow, told MPs on Tuesday night that the scheme would take effect immediately.
Only votes needed to trigger a general election under the Fixed-terms Parliaments Acts will be exempted from the new trial.
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