Will MPs finally get parental leave?

Jo Swinson is expecting her second baby this Summer. As Minister, she made sure that everyone else had the option to share their parental leave with their partner in a way that suits them.

Men and women will no longer be tied to what history dictates their traditional roles should be with mum holding the baby while dad goes out to work. Parenting is a shared endeavour and now dads have the opportunity to spend more time with their new baby in those vital early weeks.

Shared parental leave is my proudest achievement in government, and I'm delighted that it is now a reality.

The Liberal Democrats are the driving force behind this change, and we're pushing to go further in the next parliament. We want to champion the role of dads, and triple paternity leave, giving all fathers an extra month to spend with their child.

However, Parliament itself has a bit of catching up to do. There is currently no official provision for MPs who become parents.

However, it looks like this might change. A report from the Commons Procedure Committee recommended a system of proxy voting for new parents. This would not be compulsory and would last for a "broadly equivalent" time.

Jo had earlier given evidence to the Committee about why this was so important:

The Committee's recommendations will now be considered by the Government and Parliament should get the chance to vote on a new system.