Women in UK Parliament Need More Than Just Proxy Voting

On Tuesday 22nd January, Andrea Leadsom MP tabled a much anticipated motion on proxy voting in the House of Commons for new parents. Leadsom’s decision to table the motion then, after a period of inaction on the subject, was no doubt spurred by Tulip Siddiq MP’s high-profile decision to delay her caesarean operation on 15th January in order to cast her vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal. Siddiq said she delayed her caesarean because she could not trust the pairing system — where two opposing MPs agree not to vote (since their votes would cancel each other out anyway) — after Conservative chair Brandon Lewis broke his agreement with Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Jo Swinson, who was then on maternity leave, in July 2018.

The motion, which was debated on Monday 28th January 2019, provides for a one-year pilot scheme enabling proxy voting for new parents. It is a historic opportunity. Since it will largely follow the recommendations of Parliament’s Procedures Committee, the motion will allow new mothers and primary adopters a 6-month period during which they can vote by proxy. Biological fathers, partners of the biological mother, or secondary adopters will get a 2-week period.

Monday’s motion was passed unanimously. This puts the United Kingdom (UK) well ahead of the United States, Australian and Canadian…