«Breaking News» MPs will be able to let a colleague vote for them after outrage at Tulip Siddiq caesarean row

MPs will be allowed to get a colleague to vote on their behalf after outrage that Labour's Tulip Siddiq had to delay the caesarean birth of her son to take part in the Brexit vote.

Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom today announced that she will introduce proxy voting to the House of Commons on a one-year trial.

It will mean that politicians who are pregnant or have newborns will be allowed to elect another MP to cast their ballot for them. 

The Government came under massive pressure to reform Parliament's archaic rules after Ms Siddiq had to be wheeled through the division lobbies. 

Ms Siddiq tweeted a photograph of herself and her newborn son Raphael watching the announcement at home and hailed the 'momentous and overdue decision. 

Announcing the major reform to the Commons this afternoon, Mrs Leadsom said: ‘I profoundly believe that all new parents should be able to spend uninterrupted time with their new baby. 

Tulip Siddiq, pictured in the wheelchair, delayed the cesarean birth of her son to attend last night's historic Brexit vote

Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom (pictured today) announced that she will introduce proxy voting to the House of Commons on a one-year trial.

Labour MP Tulip Siddiq watched the reform being announced online with her newborn son Raphael and hailed the 'momentous and overdue' change

'This is vital for both the physical and mental well-being of parents and babies.

'So I assure the House, I am absolutely committed to making progress on this issue of proxy voting.

'And I am delighted to be able to confirm to the House today that a substantive motion on proxy leave in the case of maternity, paternity and adoption has been tabled today for the House’s agreement on Monday 28 January.'

What is the pairing system and why have MPs lost faith in it?

Parliament has operated a pairing system for many years which allow those who are ill, pregnant, or cannot vote for another good reason.

These MPs are 'paired' with a politician from the opposing side, so that neither of them take part in the vote - therefore cancelling each other out. 

But faith in the system was dealt a major blow last summer when the Tories broke it.

Lib Dem Jo Swinson had been paired with Tory chairman Brandon Lewis so she did not have to leave her newborn baby at home to take part in the vote.

But Mr Lewis took part in the knife-edge vote on the customs union on Monday night.

Number Ten insisted it had been a genuine mistake and that Theresa May apologised for it. 

But it sparked a major row and renewed calls for proxy voting to be introduced which would allow MPs to elect another person to vote on their behalf. 

The reform comes just days after a furious row erupted after Ms Siddiq decided to delay the birth of her son to take part in last week's crunch Brexit vote.

The MP for Hampstead and Kilburn defied doctors orders so she could help inflict the 230-margin defeat on the PM's Brexit deal.

Ms Siddiq, 36, was advised to have the caesarean after she developed gestational diabetes.

But she decided to delay it after losing faith in the system which allows pregnant women to be 'paired' with an MP from an opposing side so neither votes. 

Addressing MPs today, Mrs Leadsom, Commons leader, said proxy voting 'is a perfect example of how parliament can work together and bring about important change'.

She added: 'This is a really positive moment for many colleagues across the House….

'Ultimately, it is clear that the balance of opinion is that baby leave is both a unique period of time and is crucial for new parents.

'This is a step forward, removing the choice between parliamentary and parental responsibilities, and helping to make parliament a more modern workplace.’

The Tories broke the pairing system in a crunch Brexit vote last summer - a move they insisted was a genuine mistake.

But Ms Siddiq said she was not prepared to take the chance and so had her husband help her into the Commons in a wheel chair.   

Revealing her decision last week, she told he Evening Standard 'If my son enters the world even one day later than the doctors advised, but it's a world with a better chance of a strong relationship between Britain and Europe, then that's worth fighting for.' 

Under usual circumstances, heavily pregnant MPs can be 'paired' with an MP from the opposing side, so that neither of them take part in the vote - therefore cancelling each other out.

Tulip Siddiq (pictured with her daughter Azalea) is delaying the birth of her child so she can take part in today's crunch Brexit vote

But Ms Siddiq said she could not trust the Tories to stick to the system after they broke a pairing deal in a crunch Brexit Commons vote last summer.

Lib Dem Jo Swinson had been paired with Tory chairman Brandon Lewis so she did not have to leave her newborn baby at home to take part in the vote.

But Mr Lewis took part in the knife-edge vote on the customs union on Monday night.

Number 10 insisted it had been a genuine mistake and that Theresa May apologised for it. 

Ms Siddiq said the experience had sapped her trust in the pairing system.

She said: 'If the pairing system is not honoured, there's nothing I can do, and it's going to be a very close vote. I've had no pressure at all from the whips to come and vote but this is the biggest vote of my lifetime.

'I've sat down with my husband Chris and he said to me this is my choice but that he would support me.'        

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Main photo article MPs will be allowed to get a colleague to vote on their behalf after outrage that Labour’s Tulip Siddiq had to delay the caesarean birth of her son to take part in the Brexit vote.
Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom today announced that she will introduce proxy voting to the House of Commons...

It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.

Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.

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