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Single Parents in UK Parliaments

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435 Members of Parliament (67%) have children,[1] and politicians have been single parents across the history of UK governance. However, research has shown that 'women in politics are less likely to be mothers than men in politics are to be fathers',[2] and that women in the House of Commons are generally more likely to be unmarried, childless or have fewer children than men in parliament.[3] New parents who are politicians in the House of Commons do not have access to a formal system of maternity or paternity leave.[4] When they are permitted to be at home, their constituencies are effectively unrepresented.[1] Before 2020, Members of Parliament were expected to return to the chamber in-person to vote when their babies are only a few days old. Proxy voting was formally introduced in 2020 for MPs who had a baby or adopted a child.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Where's Mum? She's in the House – Parents in Parliament". The Political Studies Association. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  2. ^ Bittner, A.; Thomas, M. (2017). "Gender, Parenthood, and Politics: What Do We Still Need to Know?". Mothers and Others: The Role of Parenthood in Politics. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. p. 313.
  3. ^ Joshi, Devin K.; Goehrung, Ryan. "Mothers and fathers in parliament: MP parental status and family gaps from a global perspective". Parliamentary Affairs: 1–18.
  4. ^ a b "Mothers of Parliament: the challenges of combining parenthood and politics". Politics Home. 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  5. ^ "UK Parliament Hansard Domestic Abuse Bill". Hansard Parliament UK. 2024-03-14.
  6. ^ "Rosie Duffield speech: Tearful MPs break into round of applause after powerful address on domestic abuse". The Independent. 2019-10-02. Archived from the original on 2019-10-02. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  7. ^ "MP challenged over stance on grammars". Kent Online. 2017-07-27. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  8. ^ "PolicyMogul". policymogul.com. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  9. ^ Grierson, Jamie (2017-06-09). "Canterbury tale: single mum becomes town's first ever Labour MP". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  10. ^ "Mims Davies: 'As A Single Mum Minister, I Know Only Too Well How Challenging Being A Single Parent In Employment Can Be'". Grazia. 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  11. ^ "Michelle O'Neill: 'I had some very, very negative experiences when I was pregnant'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2024-03-15.