British Lawmakers Criticize Ban on Babies in Parliament

Some British lawmakers are criticizing a rule that prevents members of parliament from taking young children into the House of Commons.

The House of Commons is Britain's lower house of parliament where legislative² debates are held.

Labour 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.

Creasy 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.

Creasy 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.

Britain'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.

"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 juggle³ the jobs they do with the family time that they need."

Green Party lawmaker Caroline Lucas called the ban "absurd." She said children were "far less disruptive" than many of the legislators.

House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said he had asked parliament's rule makers¹ to reconsider the ban. He said the advice Creasy received represented the current rules. But he noted⁴ that there were differing opinions on the issue.

"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 fully⁵ in the work of this House."

Words in This Story

accompany – v. to go somewhere with someone

mum – n. mother

sympathy – n. the feeling that you understand and care about someone else's situation

juggle – v. try to do several things at once

absurd – adj. unreasonable⁶ or ridiculous

disrupt – v. to interrupt something and stop it from continuing

context – n. all the facts, opinions, situations, etc. relating to a particular thing or event

participate – v. to take part in something

1 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

3 juggle   

v.变戏法，纂改，欺骗，同时做；n.玩杂耍，纂改，花招

参考例句：

• If you juggle with your accounts,you'll get into trouble.你要是在帐目上做手脚，你可要遇到麻烦了。
• She had to juggle her job and her children.她得同时兼顾工作和孩子。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。