A piece in The Guardian. Of course female MPs “with babies” (immaculate conceptions, one and all, the Archangel Gabriel must be exhausted) will expect to continue taking the same salary, and enjoy the same perks. Shameless, the lot of them. The end of the piece:

Emma Reynolds, the Labour MP who gave birth four days before the election last year, said the pairing system was “not fit for purpose” and meant new mothers could be vulnerable to allegations of laziness if their voting record appeared to be poor.

“Last year, a national newspaper accused me of having the second-worst voting record in parliament without referring to the fact I was on maternity leave,” she said. “One of my other colleagues in a similar situation was branded one of ‘Britain’s laziest MPs’. New mums shouldn’t have to face this reputational damage.

“I hope that these proposals for proxy voting will go through quickly so that MPs can continue to represent their constituents while they are on maternity leave, paternity leave or shared parental leave.

“Passing these reforms would send out an important signal to young women and men who are considering a career as an MP and who would also like to start a family.”

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