Breast-feeding in Commons ... and transgender loos!

Bercow hails study on ending ‘antiquated’ attitudes

BREAST-feeding should be allowed in the Commons to encourage firms to adopt ‘familyfriendly’ policies, according to a report for Speaker John Bercow.

Allowing babies in the House would make Parliament a ‘role model’ for the rest of the country, says the 70-page study on tackling sexism at Westminster.

It also calls for the introduction of transgender toilets in Parliament to address ‘gender insensitivities’ and for Prime Minister’s Questions to be held in ‘silence’ so it is less aggressive.

And it says the Commons authorities should commission more portraits of senior female politicians to make Parliament more welcoming for women.

The study also recommends introduc‘ridiculed’

‘It is just not appropriate’

ing a four-day week at Westminster to allow MPs, who enjoy long holidays, to spend more time with their children.

Breast-feeding in the Commons was banned in 2001 by former Speaker Betty Boothroyd, who told MPs: ‘You wouldn’t start feeding your child if you worked on a supermarket check-out or if you were a solicitor having a meeting with a client.’

Tory grandee Sir Simon Burns warned yesterday that Parliament risked being if it allowed breastfeeding in the Commons chamber, where proceedings are broadcast live on TV.

Fellow Conservative Sir Gerald Howarth described the idea as ‘completely ridiculous’.

He said: ‘This is a very important chamber where great issues of state are debated.

‘We cannot find ourselves distracted by the presence of babies in the chamber, or, indeed, have members being distracted by feeding their children. It is just not appropriate.

‘We don’t bring sandwiches into the chamber and I don’t see why members should be feeding their children in there.’

The total ban on breast-feeding in Parliament was lifted in 2002, but it is still in place in the chamber and in committee meetings.

Some women MPs have railed against the ruling for years. Labour MP Jess Phillips said that while it might be ‘ridiculously controversial’ to allow breastfeeding in the chamber, the move was needed to encourage more young women into politics.

The report points out that the Australian parliament lifted a similar ban on breast-feeding earlier this year. It says: ‘In addition to allowing MPs to carry out their representative functions, permitting entry to infants would have symbolic benefits – showcasing the Commons as a parent-friendly institution.’

The study was carried out by Sarah Childs, professor of gender and politics at Bristol University. Its cost has not been revealed.

It warns that Parliament is ‘unequal and exclusionary’ and calls for 43 reforms to make the Commons more representative.

Mr Bercow welcomed the report, saying Parliament had been ‘lazy’ about addressing ‘antiquated’ practices and attitudes.

He said the reforms would not be achieved ‘overnight’, but added: ‘There is a big journey to be undertaken.’

The report also calls for an end to the dress code that requires male MPs to wear a jacket and tie in the chamber, saying there is no ‘equivalent level of formality’ for women.

It suggests that male MPs of foreign heritage should be allowed to wear ‘national costume’ to reflect Britain’s multicultural traditions.