Stay-at-home parents need new minister to fight their corner, Tory MPs tell Johnson

BORIS JOHNSON is under pressure from dozens of his own MPs to appoint a families minister in the Cabinet to fight for the rights of stay-at-home parents.

Forty-four Conservative MPs, many from the new intake at December’s election, have written to the Prime Minister demanding that he set up a families ministry to fight for the rights of single-earner families.

The MPs are concerned that supporting parents who look after children rather than go to work have been forgotten in the policymaking process.

The letter is backed by newly elected Tory MPs Siobhan Baillie, Simon Fell and Danny Kruger, the Prime Minister’s former political secretary. In the letter – a copy of which has been passed to The Sunday Telegraph – MPs say they “have the public on our side on this”.

Asking Mr Johnson to build on a “strengthening families” pledge in the party’s election manifesto, they say: “As you take this manifesto commitment forward may we ask you to consider establishing a Cabinet-level minister for families, supported by a Government Families Office. This Cabinet-level brief is envisaged to be similar to the role of Minister for Women and Equalities, supported by the Government Equalities Office and held alongside another Cabinet-level role.”

They added: “Evidence shows that the biggest factor in determining how people vote is the impact policies will have on them and their families: YouGov found that 81 per cent of British adults think stronger families and improved parenting are important to addressing Britain’s social problems.”

Ranil Jayawardena, a Conservative Party vice-chairman of policy, said: “It’s so important that the Government continues to support families and goes further in the years ahead, as we promised in the manifesto. We delivered on our pledge to raise the tax-free allowance to £12,500 – and this has raised the Marriage Allowance in turn – but I know that many want us to go further, given that single people without family responsibilities… pay eight per cent less tax than the OECD average, whilst single-earner married couples with two children pay 26 per cent more.

“Sadly, many parents feel staying at home has been devalued. This is wrong. Their £1trillion worth of unpaid care is invaluable.”

Smacking children should be banned in England, following the lead of Scotland and Wales, educational psychologists, paediatricians and GPs have said in a letter to The Telegraph. They said: “Sixty countries have banned smacking. It is now time for a ban across the whole of Britain.”