Proxy voting will be introduced to the House of Commons on a one-year pilot, Andrea Leadsom has announced.
It follows an outcry over the lack of support for the Labour MP Tulip Siddiq, who delayed the birth of her son by two days to vote against Theresa May’s EU withdrawal agreement.
Despite initial indications that somebody would be allowed to vote in Siddiq’s place a week ago, the MP was subsequently told by the Conservatives she would have to go to Westminster in person if she wanted her voted to be recorded.
Leadsom, the leader of the Commons, told MPs that a motion approving the scheme would be on the order paper for approval by the house on Monday 28 January.
She said: “I am delighted to be able to confirm to the house today that a substantive motion on proxy leave in the case of maternity, paternity and adoption has been tabled today for the house’s agreement on Monday 28 January.
“This is a step forward, removing the choice between parliamentary and parental responsibilities, and helping to make parliament a more modern workplace,” she said.
Siddiq, who was advised by doctors to have a caesarean section after complications in the birth of her first daughter, Azalea, voted in a wheelchair last week against May’s agreement.
A breakdown in trust over the pairing system for pregnant MPs and new mothers meant she wanted to attend the Commons in person or risk losing her vote on behalf of her constituents, 76% of whom voted remain.
Siddiq blamed the Conservatives, saying: “It is sad to learn that senior politicians are actively delaying proxy voting in order to gain a partisan advantage.”
She was pushed through the division lobbies in a wheelchair by Labour colleague Clive Lewis. The government lost by a record 230 votes.
Her son, Raphael Mujib St John Percy, was born on Thursday, two days after the vote.
Responding to the announcement, the MP for Hampstead and Kilburn tweeted a photo of herself holding her son while watching Leadsom at the dispatch box.
“Watching the urgent question with Raphael who, at just six days old, is delighted to have been mentioned in Hansard, due to the historic introduction of #ProxyVoting in the House of Commons. A really momentous (and overdue) change that I welcome,” she wrote.
Watching the Urgent Question with Raphael who, at just six days old, is delighted to have been mentioned in Hansard, due to the historic introduction of #ProxyVoting in the House of Commons. A really momentous (and overdue) change that I welcome. pic.twitter.com/61WJnTSarY
— Tulip Siddiq (@TulipSiddiq) January 22, 2019
Leadsom made the announcement in a response to an urgent question tabled by Jo Swinson, who was excluded in a similar pairing row last summer. Swinson welcomed the announcement but said the situation Siddiq was put in last week was “shameful”.
The one-year pilot will be based on the procedure committee report into proxy voting.
The scheme will be available in cases of childbirth or care of an infant or newly-adopted child and will be administered by the Speaker, with the proxy vote cast by another member or a whip.
The change takes the form of a temporary standing order.
The pilot allows for the procedure committee to review the success of the scheme before the end of the pilot, after which it is hoped it can be rolled out on a permanent basis.
The full practical details of how the scheme will operate will be discussed by the house authorities and will be signed off by the Speaker as well as the leaders of the three largest political parties in the house.
