It’s time acting Secretaries of State were allowed
Female Members of Parliament have the right to take maternity leave and not receive abuse for the decision to juggle public and family life. To ensure constituents continue to receive their parliamentary representation and to keep the engine of Government moving, named deputies for constituency work and acting Secretaries of State for Government roles should be allowed – the same maternity cover that would be provided in another other job.
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Michelle Donelan MP, announced that she is expecting her first child and that she will take a short maternity leave in the new year. In the same week, another female MP, Theo Clarke, reported that angry constituents had called her office during her six-month maternity leave demanding she 'go back to work', criticising her for 'taking six months off when she fancied'. Another MP Siobhan Baillie reported similar stories. It's clear some constituents feel hard done by when their elected representative appears uncontactable for six months at a time.
Balancing motherhood and the green benches is hard enough that many don't attempt it. A 2012 study found that 45 percent of female MPs had no children, compared to an average of about 20 percent of the population who were childless. The late votes and unpredictable nature of the job can make it difficult to juggle with the responsibilities of caring for children. Although not everyone is put off. For example, Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto was the first world leader to give birth while in office, but she did not take maternity leave. So it was in 2018 that Jacinda Arden, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, grabbed headlines for becoming the first political head of government to take maternity leave while in office. Interestingly, when Arden was on leave she fully transferred responsibility to her deputy Winston Peters during that time. Our Members of Parliament cannot do that.
One did try. Stella Creasy MP was the first MP going on maternity leave to advertise for a locum MP to deputise for her on constituency matters, but she was told her replacement was unable to vote or speak in the House of Commons chamber, per democratic standards: Only the MP has the elected mandate from their constituents. When Attorney General Suella Braverman gave birth to her second child in 2021, the law was changed to allow Ministers to take maternity leave, but no maternity cover for her role as the leading Government lawyer was provided. Welcome steps have been made to allow more participation by MPs on maternity leave – they can now vote by proxy for the entire six months.
But it shouldn't be up to one MP to advertise for a locum while they take their leave. It should become a blanket policy. It's important that constituents continue to receive quick responses to their requests even if their representative is on leave. And it is often an MP intervening that really speeds up third parties to do their jobs, whether that be a housing query, passport processing, welfare entitlements or getting a pothole fixed. So if that MP is on leave, they need to name one locum who carries their authority who can intervene on these important local cases. For casework purposes, this locum would have the same weight as the MP themselves. Having the requirement for a named locum would also help constituents understand they are still being represented, while their elected Member takes time with their family.
Finally, if the MP is in Government, on top of the constituency related locum, a maternity cover should also be appointed to temporarily take their place in the Department. We have precedent for this: Ministers already deputise for their Secretary of State at the dispatch box and the Deputy Prime Minister takes full responsibility if the Prime Minister is incapacitated due to ill-health. So, when the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport takes her maternity leave in 2023, an acting Secretary of State should be temporarily appointed.
Maternity leave does not need to jeopardise Parliamentary representation for constituents. Sorting out the final issues with maternity policy will not only satisfy the constituents, but also strengthen our democracy.
Sophia Worringer is a commentator with Young Voices UK and Head of Research – State of the Nation at the Centre for Social Justice.
