Musings of a millennial dad

by Cllr Nick Cook

Recently a clutch of announcements from MSPs have shared a similar theme – being a politician is difficult to juggle with a young or growing family.

It is proving a key driver in MSPs opting not to seek re-election in 2021.

Edinburgh Central’s Ruth Davidson (disclaimer: my boss), Clydesdale’s Aileen Campbell and Caithness, Sutherland and Ross’s Gail Ross have all spoken of the toll their Holyrood political careers have taken on family life.

In standing down, each are opting to make a different choice. They are placing family first – entirely the right choice, in my opinion.

Holyrood has no formal maternity or paternity policy for elected members – almost suggesting it was once considered improper for politicians to procreate.

Renewed calls for Holyrood proxy voting and technological solutions continue to be swiftly rebuffed with flimsy statements around issues of practicality.

You can almost hear Edinburgh’s big financial services companies laugh out loud, given how they actively encourage employees junior and senior alike - to work from home and video call into meetings throughout the day.

Why I am I writing about this issue, you ask?

After all, I am a councillor rather than a parliamentarian, and a male one to boot.

Because as a father to a young daughter and a local politician, I feel strongly that the issue isn’t a gendered one, or applicable only to one level of government.

It affects both mothers and fathers, particularly millennial dads, upon who there are modern societal expectations, something that simply wasn’t the case for our fathers, or their fathers before.

In my experience, parenting alongside that of the dozens of new Edinburgh dads that now make up my primary social circle - is a 50/50 endeavour in almost every household.

The growing popularity of local charities like ‘Dads Rock’ bears this out.

However, often dad is still expected to continue to work full time and provide with their salary, where mums often make careful considerations about how many hours they can afford to cut from their own jobs, at least during the earliest years of parenthood.

As is the case for MSPs, there is no formal provision for councillors around maternity, paternity or adoption leave. A situation both myself and Edinburgh Council leader, Adam McVey have had to grapple with in the last two years.

It will prove an unpopular statement amongst those serving in Holyrood, but it is widely accepted by many that the evening and weekend engagements of a local councillor can often far outstrip those of a middling regional list MSP.

Whilst it is true that, returning home to your own home at

10pm is better than an evening in an Edinburgh hotel miles from your family, serving on a local authority attracts a fraction of the remuneration of a member of parliament. Childcare fees are expensive.

Families come in many shapes and sizes. For example, while someone may work close to home, they might not have relatives

nearby to help with childcare.

Similarly, someone required to travel four hours into work might have both sets of grandparents on hand to help out.

This reflects the diversity of modern family and that of our society. It is only a strength.

At all levels, our political institutions - assuming they do wish to continue to make strides to better resemble the public they seek to represent – must urgently make it into the 21st century and better harness readily available technology to ensure politicians can exercise their democratic functions.