The prime minister of New Zealand will make an official visit to Britain in April, two months ahead of the expected birth of her first child.
Jacinda Ardern, 37, who announced last week that she was pregnant, confirmed to The Times that she would attend the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in London . It will be her first significant overseas visit since she took office in late October.
The prime minister will be about 32 weeks pregnant when she arrives in London. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has said that flying is not harmful during a low-risk pregnancy, but there may be side-effects. The college recommended in 2015 that women beyond 28 weeks’ pregnancy should fly with their medical notes and a GP’s letter. After 37 weeks a woman may go into labour at any time.
Ms Ardern’s spokesman said that the schedule for her April trip was still being finalised. It is believed she is also considering travelling to Paris, Berlin and Brussels. She intends to return to her duties six weeks after the birth of her child and her partner, the television fishing show host Clarke Gayford, plans to become a stay-at-home father.
While Ms Ardern’s announcement of her pregnancy attracted widespread messages of congratulation, including from fellow world leaders such as Malcolm Turnbull, prime minister of Australia, she has been criticised by some New Zealanders on social media.
Advertisement
They were angered that she knew she was pregnant in the middle of negotiations to form a coalition with minor parties to become prime minister after the country’s inconclusive election in September, but had delayed making an announcement.
“World leaders will be sending their congratulations, laughing behind their hand and writing New Zealand off. She should stand down immediately,” one post said.
Ms Ardern hit back at her critics on Monday, saying that she and her partner had put a plan in place to ensure she did not let New Zealanders down. “I’ve seen some reporting on it, and heaps of people are going to have views and everyone’s entitled to their view,” she said. “I know that all we can do is prove that this job is incredibly important to us.
“The role of prime minister is a privilege I don’t take for granted which is why we’re making sure that we have a good plan in place so that I don’t let anyone down, and we don’t let anyone down.”
Ms Ardern began her political career working as a researcher in the office of Helen Clark, New Zealand’s former Labour prime minister. She spent time in London working as a policy adviser to Tony Blair and later worked on policing issues in the Home Office. In 2008 she was elected president of the International Union of Socialist Youth.