United we are a force for families

THERE are some issues which rise above the rough and tumble of party politics.

There are times when a courageous Labour MP, a left-leaning newspaper and a Tory PM can agree that a wrong needs to be righted.

Such an issue is the abolition of child burial charges. Such a time is now.

When Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris arrived in the Commons in 2015 she brought with her a heartache she resolved others must not have to suffer. Carolyn lost her eight-year-old son Martin in 1989. And the worst pain a parent can endure was compounded by not being able to afford a funeral for him.

She told her story to the House of Commons, and the green benches were stunned into silence. MPs of all parties told her this was a campaign she must win, and encouraged her to keep going.

They knew that the £10million needed to provide free funerals for 4,350 under-18s who die each year was a drop in the ocean of government spending.

Theresa May was also moved by Carolyn’s story, but even PMs cannot magic money out of thin air. It had to come from the Treasury.

Mrs May set about softening up Chancellor Philip Hammond.

The Sunday Mirror spread Carolyn’s message throughout the nation and the campaign we fought hand in hand with her brought results.

Local authorities began scrapping the charges. The Welsh Assembly got rid of them in Wales. Wakefield became the latest council to end fees this week.

The mood for change was becoming unstoppable, and Mrs May was pressurised into acting.

A Labour MP and a left-leaning newspaper and a Tory PM found themselves in the unusual position of being united.

The Sunday Mirror is proud of the part we played in this. We salute Carolyn for her bravery and determination. We know it wasn’t easy for her. We thank Mrs May for her personal intervention.

To those who have little time for politicians or a free press, we ask them to look at what happened here. And how we can work together as a force for good.