British Lawmakers Criticize Ban on Babies in Parliament
2021-11-29
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1Some British lawmakers are criticizing a rule that prevents members of parliament from taking young children into the House of Commons.
2The House of Commons is Britain's lower house of parliament where legislative debates are held.
3Labour Party legislator Stella Creasy recently reported that parliamentary officials had told her she could not bring her 3-month-old son to the House floor.
4Creasy said that in the past, she had taken her baby and an older daughter to the House of Commons without any problems.
5But she received the new order after she took her son to a debate.
6She was told the rule had changed in September.
7Creasy said the rule hurts efforts to make politics more family-friendly.
8"There are barriers to getting mums involved in politics, and I think that damages our political debate," she told the BBC.
9Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, a Conservative Party member, said he has "a lot of sympathy" for Creasy's position.
10But he said the decision is for House officials to make.
11"I think we do need to make sure our profession is brought into the modern world, the 21st century," Raab said.
12He added that changes can permit parents "to juggle the jobs they do with the family time that they need."
13Green Party lawmaker Caroline Lucas called the ban "absurd."
14She said children were "far less disruptive" than many of the legislators.
15House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said he had asked parliament's rule makers to reconsider the ban.
16He said the advice Creasy received represented the current rules.
17But he noted that there were differing opinions on the issue.
18"Rules have to be seen in context and they change with the times," Hoyle said.
19He added: "It is extremely important that parents of babies and young children are able to participate fully in the work of this House."
20I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Some British lawmakers are criticizing a rule that prevents members of parliament from taking young children into the House of Commons. 2The House of Commons is Britain's lower house of parliament where legislative debates are held. 3Labour Party legislator Stella Creasy recently reported that parliamentary officials had told her she could not bring her 3-month-old son to the House floor. 4Creasy said that in the past, she had taken her baby and an older daughter to the House of Commons without any problems. But she received the new order after she took her son to a debate. She was told the rule had changed in September. 5Creasy said the rule hurts efforts to make politics more family-friendly. "There are barriers to getting mums involved in politics, and I think that damages our political debate," she told the BBC. 6Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, a Conservative Party member, said he has "a lot of sympathy" for Creasy's position. But he said the decision is for House officials to make. 7"I think we do need to make sure our profession is brought into the modern world, the 21st century," Raab said. He added that changes can permit parents "to juggle the jobs they do with the family time that they need." 8Green Party lawmaker Caroline Lucas called the ban "absurd." She said children were "far less disruptive" than many of the legislators. 9House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said he had asked parliament's rule makers to reconsider the ban. He said the advice Creasy received represented the current rules. But he noted that there were differing opinions on the issue. 10"Rules have to be seen in context and they change with the times," Hoyle said. He added: "It is extremely important that parents of babies and young children are able to participate fully in the work of this House." 11I'm Bryan Lynn. 12The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 13We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 14__________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16accompany - v. to go somewhere with someone 17mum - n. mother 18sympathy - n. the feeling that you understand and care about someone else's situation 19juggle - v. try to do several things at once 20absurd - adj. unreasonable or ridiculous 21disrupt - v. to interrupt something and stop it from continuing 22context - n. all the facts, opinions, situations, etc. relating to a particular thing or event 23participate - v. to take part in something