Burial fee victory is a tribute to my boy
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Campaigning is in my blood. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an overwhelming desire to make things right and to use my voice to help those who aren’t in a position to use their own.
Back in 1989, I was an ordinary mum, living in Swansea with my husband and two young sons. I was a school dinner lady and, while we didn’t have everything, we were comfortable, content and our boys were everything to us.
But that world was shattered into a million tiny pieces in June of that year when Martin, my eldest son, went out to play with his friends and never came home.
A tragic road accident robbed us of our bright and beautiful eightyear-old and our lives were changed for ever. The weeks and months that followed are still a blur, but I do remember the fear of how we were going to afford to pay for Martin’s burial.
Thanks to a whip-round in our local pub and a loan from the bank, we managed to give him a dignified funeral. But that fear is something I will never forget.
When I was elected as MP for Swansea East in 2015, I knew the position put me in a very privileged place. A place where I really could make a difference – and I knew immediately that there was one issue that I had to champion.
The grief of losing a child can barely be put into words as you are forced to learn to live a new, unexpected and unwanted “normal”.
You somehow have to plan a funeral for your precious son or daughter. It is the last gift you can give to them and yet, for many, the reality has been an unbearable choice between debt and a pauper’s funeral.
I was determined that no more parents should face the added uncertainty of debt when already facing life’s cruellest blow.
Financial stability should not be a factor in how bereaved parents choose to lay their babies to rest. And I therefore made it my mission to persuade the Government to introduce a Children’s Funeral Fund to help those parents in their darkest hour.
In the 18 months since I first stood in the House of Commons Chamber and spoke about my own experience, I have been overwhelmed by the support I have received from colleagues, members of the public and bereavement organisations. I also owe a huge gratitude to the Sunday Mirror for the unrelenting support and coverage it has given.
I have lost count of the number of letters I have written, questions I have asked and debates I have spoken in about this. Every time I have requested, urged, begged and pleaded with the Government for this fund, I have relived my own pain.
I have shed many tears over this and, two weeks ago, I shed even more, when the Prime Minister finally made the announcement I had hoped and prayed she would.
On March 31, Theresa May confirmed that fees for all children’s burials and cremations in England would be waived by local authorities. A funeral can cost more than £3,000. The £10m government has set aside will help cover that.
This announcement will mean so much to parents who suffer the tragic loss of their child in the future. The Prime Minister has shown sympathy and compassion with this commitment.
I am honoured that she has asked for it to be set up and I am so proud that the commitment has been made in Martin’s memory.