Manning SP: National Childbirth Trust

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Juliet Manning
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Manning SP: National Childbirth Trust

Post by Juliet Manning »

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is an absolute privilege to talk to the community of the National Childbirth Trust, the largest parents’ charity in the UK. I know that we have in the audience our extraordinary charity trustees; volunteers who work with this charity and devote their lives to supporting parents; and parents themselves, members of local communities brought together by the NCT, facing both the triumphs and the tribulations of parenthood together.

My husband and I found out some 26 years ago that we could not conceive children. I was devastated by the news; we both were. For as long as we had been together, it had been our dream to start a family. In the end, of course, we did: we adopted a beautiful little girl called Amy, who is even now growing into an intelligent, kind and hardworking young woman. In her early childhood, my husband and I personally made use of the NCT’s resources, and joined a local network of parents looking to meet new friends and build a supportive community of guardians of all ages and backgrounds. So I want to thank you - all of you - who are a part of this ongoing journey.

There is no greater privilege in life than to be a parent. To nurture a young life from the cradle; to watch your beloved children grow and mature, to develop new skills and interests, to learn how to solve problems, to play and to learn at school. There is also no greater challenge: many new parents face considerable financial pressures, especially single mothers and single fathers. Working parents too face challenges; how to balance a career with a loving family life - how to share the load of parenting and household chores - and how to live up to the high standards that we all set ourselves when a child comes into our lives.

I want to talk a little bit about some of those challenges, and a little bit about how I am urging the government to help.

I know politics can seem a world away from our daily lives as mothers and fathers. Just a few short months ago, I was elected to Parliament for the first time. I am still baffled by its sometimes arcane practices, and by a culture which is still dominate by older, wealthier males who do not necessarily have much of a stake in parenthood. My working hours are intense, as are my husband’s; and though Amy is now at an age where I feel comfortable to leave her unsupervised for some time, we still need to ensure that she is safe, loved and getting all of the attention and encouragement that she needs from us. I want to tell you that politics is not just about budgets and deficits, taxes and regulations, public appointments and major controversies. It is, at its heart, about people and families - the most fundamental unit of our society. And it is about improving lives.

I am today calling upon the government to introduce 24 weeks of fully paid parental leave each, both for mothers and for fathers. This would be a world-leading and world-beating commitment which would allow Britain’s parents to spend the first six months of a baby’s life entirely focused on bonding with, nurturing and caring for that baby. And for the first time, this would be parental leave which was paid at a 100% rate, and which was available to both mothers and fathers - reflecting the immense cultural shift which has occurred in the past thirty years, whereby fathers now want to play a more active role in their children’s lives.

I also want the government to make the existing period of maternity leave available to parents to be extended to fathers too, so that either the mother or the father may choose to take advantage of the 52 weeks provided for in law at a capped 90% pay rate.

I am also calling for the government to introduce an innovation that Finland has applied universally since 1949: parental packages, otherwise known as baby boxes.

A baby box would be issued to pregnant mothers and would contain the basic essentials for caring for a newborn: insulated clothing, a sleeping bag and blankets, bedding and linen, reusable nappies, a cuddly toy, a comfort blanket and personal care products for the parents. The effect of this innovation upon the success of new parents, particularly single parents or those on low incomes, cannot be overstated. The cost of the baby box programme would be approximately £110 million per year, which pales into insignificance when compared to the size of the existing budgetary surplus.

Finally, I am calling upon the government to make a firm commitment that no child should leave school and fall straight into poverty. Thus, I want the Chancellor to get on with New Labour’s manifesto commitment to introduce tax-free Child Trust Funds as a priority.

These measures in isolation are not sufficient to transform the lives and livelihood of parents in Britain; but they are a necessary component of New Labour’s efforts to build in the United Kingdom a nation in which, from the cradle onwards, every child has the fundamental right to a good life, a fair chance, and a future full of opportunity. That is what parents want above all: the knowledge that their children will live a good life. And it is within the power of the government to deliver.

Thank you.
Mrs Juliet Manning MP
Member of Parliament for Crosby 2001-Present
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Barclay A.A. Stanley
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Re: Manning SP: National Childbirth Trust

Post by Barclay A.A. Stanley »

Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Where was this Kandler for the Tories?

Juliet gets a standing ovation from her crowd who lap up her heart-tugging story of adversity overcome by love and all of that ridiculously squishy stuff. This is how you write a speech: you pull them in with a good little anecdote and then hit them with the policy they love to hear. They go home thinking "oooh, that Juliet Manning really is a lovely girl and if she gets us what she said she will, we will be very happy."

The policies themselves are positive steps and are obviously supported by the audience who, by now, are enamored with the Labour MP. As I said earlier in the round, policies in speeches to non-wonk types just need to be simple, digestible tid bits. Of course, this would have been a 10/10 had Manning followed Blakesley's advice of "show, don't tell" when it came to the policies, but nobody can be perfect.

Overall, Manning has taken ownership of an issue and pledged action. She is now beloved by mothers, especially the soft sort of middle class ones for whom this sort of speech was written.

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Lt. Col. Sir Barclay A.A. Stanley, Rtd., KBE
Member of Parliament for Macclesfield

Armed with nothing but a pint of gin, Sir Barclay went to battle against the forces of Communism, Socialism, and Liberalism.
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