UK politics isn't exactly well known for being a welcoming space for working mothers.

Stella Creasy made history in Dec. 2019 by becoming the first MP to get maternity cover. Historically, MPs were not entitled to maternity leave in the UK. 

Now, House Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has announced that MPs will be allowed to breastfeed in the Chamber of the House of Commons.

In 2000, Betty Boothroyd — who served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1992 to 2000 — banned breastfeeding in the Chamber of the Commons and in committee rooms. Until now breastfeeding was only allowed in other areas of the Palace of Westminster.

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Lindsay Hoyle, who assumed his role as Speaker in Nov. 2019, gave breastfeeding the green light, stating that it should be the decision of the mother.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle in the House of Commons after becoming the new Speaker.Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA Images via Getty Images

"I'm of the view there isn't a policy, my view is that it is up to a mother," he said. "I think it would be wrong for me as a man to dictate on that policy."

"If it happens, it happens. I wouldn’t be upset by it," he added.

Harriet Harman, one of the first MPs to breastfeed in parliament during the 1980s, praised Hoyle for the move.

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It's about time.

TopicsSocial GoodPoliticsFamily & Parenting

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