As Siobhan Baillie rose to speak, she could be heard to say: ‘Thank you Mr Speaker – oh, I got a kick there’.
24 March 2022
An MP felt her baby kicking as she stood to ask a question in the Commons.
Conservative MP Siobhan Baillie (Stroud), who revealed she was pregnant with her second child during a debate earlier this year, told the Commons that she felt a kick during Business Questions.
Commons Leader Mark Spencer remarked that she was “probably not the first person to get a kicking in this place”.
As Ms Baillie rose to speak, she could be heard to say: “Thank you Mr Speaker – oh, I got a kick there.”
After laughter from MPs finished, the Stroud MP apologised and asked a question of the Commons Leader.
She said: “The damage to children from sustained parent conflict can be absolute devastating and last night I spoke at an event for the Family Solutions Group alongside the president of the family division and leading lights in the family law world, and we all know we need to do more on family breakdown in this place.
“The Ministry of Justice are working really hard on this and we need other Government departments to row in behind them.”
The former family law solicitor added: “Will he grant time for a debate about separated families and the forthcoming divorce act that comes in in April?”
Mr Spencer replied: “She is probably not the first person to get a kicking in this place, but probably the first person to get one internally.”
He added: “She brings an enormous amount of expertise to this place from her former career and I know a lot of MPs have cases where divorce is causing challenges to their constituents and I think she is right to draw attention to that.
“The Ministry of Justice is bringing forward legislation, but 280,000 children are caught in the middle of family breakdowns and so I commend her for her work in this matter. I am sure she will continue to draw attention to the House in the way she has.”
