i Editor's Letter: Our mother of parliaments must free the nipple

Too many mums are already made to feel shy and self-conscious about daring to feed their infant in public (Getty)

Of course women MPs should be able to breastfeed their infants in the House of Commons.

A mother feeding a hungry baby “would risk tabloid ridicule” according to former minister Sir Simon Burns, one of many MPs speaking out against the proposal to lift the ban this week. But since when has that been a sound reason to cling to hideously outdated social mores, relics of Victoriana? Stop for a second, also, to consider the behaviour that really does demean Westminster.

Our Parliament, supposedly the mother of democracies, fails to represent the majority (51 per cent) of its people with such a paltry intake of women twice a decade.

Women in their late 20s and 30s - the typical age of first-time mothers - have so much to give to employers and colleagues, and shouldn't be held back because Bufton Tufton is horrified by the prospect of a momentary glimpse of areola. We hold them back at our peril - aren't we trying to build an economic recovery?

Most of us are working longer hours than ever, childcare costs a fortune, and companies that value staff retention will have to make their workplaces more family friendly. Too many mums are already made to feel shy and self-conscious about daring to feed their infant in public.

And even a squawking child could be no more disruptive to proceedings in the House than the monkey’s tea party deemed acceptable for Prime Minister’s Questions. Only half of female MPs have kids; two-thirds of male MPs do. Lifting the ban on breastfeeding, reducing anti-social hours, coinciding recess with school holidays and raising the age limit on bringing children through the voting lobbies would help all parents.

Parliament sets the tone for the rest of the country - and what a joy it would be for us to be proud of the Commons, to be able to celebrate a modern seat of democracy that begins to represent its citizens and the way we live.

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