What’s up in Westminster?

EACH WEEK A FEMALE MP GIVES US THE INSIDER VIEW FROM PARLIAMENT

Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom talks about why a new law she introduced last week, giving parents who lose a child two weeks’ bereavement leave, is crucial

When I met a woman called Lucy Herd last week, we were both in tears as she told me her story. Ten years ago, her 23-month-old son Jack drowned in a pond. After Jack died, her then husband was only able to get three days off and one of those had to be for the funeral. It was an emotional moment when I asked her permission to name a new statutory two-week paid leave for bereaved parents ‘Jack’s Law’ in honour of her son.

She’s been fighting for this since he died and I’m so relieved for her. But this isn’t just about Lucy and Jack; it’s also for the parents of the 7,500 children who die every year, 3,000 of those stillborn. Many employers are excellent, but some don’t know how to deal with these tragedies. Bereavement charity Sands is providing training to employers and the Government is making it clear we need to set out a statutory two weeks’ leave to be taken when the parent wants, from April.

‘ We need to help young parents – I remember exactly how my post-natal depression felt’

I’ve always been passionate about supporting parents in the early years of their children’s lives, whether that’s helping them nurture their baby, helping those trying to have a baby or those who have lost a child. I suffered from post-natal depression when I had my first child. I remember sitting in our lovely, new house – we’d just moved out of London – and the windows were filthy. I was in tears thinking, I cannot face finding a window cleaner or cleaning them myself. I remember that feeling of complete hopelessness.

Parents’ mental health issues can have a profound impact on families. My children are all grown up now but my mum, a retired midwife and cognitive behavioural therapist, always said there’s three stages of labour: contractions, delivery and guilt. The guilt stays with you forever – we all worry about the things that happen in the early years. To support working families as much as we can, we’ve put measures to better protect new mothers from being sacked or made redundant on their return to work in our upcoming Employment Bill (which should pass before the end of the year).

It’s great to be back in Parliament with a new lease of life and a new speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, who is encouraging people to treat each other with dignity and respect. I was concerned about how people were treating each other before. You can already feel the shift – it makes you realise how having a clear majority makes relationships function much better.

‘We cried when we decided on Jack’s Law’