#ELLGE2019 Lewisham Labour candidate Ellie Reeves gives birth

Ellie Reeves Pic: UK Parliament

Ellie Reeves, the Labour parliamentary candidate for Lewisham West & Penge, gave birth to a baby boy this morning.  

Reeves, 38, took just one day off as maternity leave as the General Election was called unexpectedly when she was already nine months pregnant. She was back on the campaign trail until she gave birth.  

Reeves, who is married to John Cryer, Labour parliamentary candidate for Leyton and Wanstead, had planned to have a year-long maternity leave and use a proxy vote for parliamentary activities.  

Reeves, who is married to John Cryer, Labour parliamentary candidate for Leyton and Wanstead, had planned to have a year-long maternity leave and use a proxy vote for parliamentary activities.  

Reeves announced the end to “possibly the shortest lived maternity leave” on Twitter. She said: “Back to work today planning my general election campaign.” Reeves has said that after the birth she would return to the election campaigning as soon as she is physically able.  

Reeves has spoken about making Parliament more family friendly, and has called for an extension of the existing six-month proxy vote system which is offered to new parents, to bring parliamentary policy in line with UK maternity law.  

Prior to the introduction of the new proxy voting system, MPs used a controversial pairing system where an MP who was unable to vote was paired with an MP from the opposing party who would abstain on a vote balance out the numbers.  

The former system was often criticised and was allegedly undermined during Brexit votes, when Conservative MPs were accused of not respecting the system.  

The new system allows MPs who are unable to attend to nominate a colleague to vote on their behalf, as opposed to pairing with an MP from the opposing side.  

In January before the new system was introduced, Labour MP Tulip Siddiq postponed a caesarean section in order to participate in a crucial Brexit vote as she did not trust the pairing system.  

Reeves, who was born in Lewisham, was elected to the Lewisham West and Penge seat in 2017, almost doubling the Labour majority to 23,000.   

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