Pregnant Labor MP Leaves House of Commons Debate to Eat

Local Editor

A heavily pregnant British MP was allegedly accused of "bringing down the whole of womankind" and told not to play the "pregnancy card" after leaving a debate early to eat.

Tulip Siddiq, who was elected as the Labor MP for Hampstead and Kilburn in 2015, was criticized by the Deputy Speaker Eleanor Laing after leaving a debate on Universal Credit welfare in the House of Commons after just over two hours, according to claims published by the Evening Standard.

Relatively, witnesses said that Ms. Siddiq, who is seven months pregnant, was reportedly called over by Ms. Laing after returning 45 minutes later and apologized for leaving without mentioning her pregnancy.

However, witnesses also reported that Ms. Laing was "really laying into her" during their "intense" exchange, and at one point told her: "Don't play the pregnancy card with me".

For her part, Siddiq said the reported incident highlighted how outdated conventions in the House of Commons are, particularly for those who are pregnant or have health problems.

"In certain cases people should be given leeway to leave without having to go through an administrative process," she added. "Elsewhere in society that would just be common sense."

In parallel, a spokesperson for the House of Commons said "the chair is able to grant a brief leave of absence at his or her discretion" if a member applies privately to the chair to leave the Chamber.

Source: The Independent, Edited by website team