No Parent Should Have to Choose Between Work and Their Sick Newborn

This weekend marks a deeply compassionate and long-overdue change in the law—one that speaks to the values we must uphold as a society.

From now on, parents of seriously ill newborn babies will be entitled to up to 12 weeks of paid leave. No longer will mums or dads have to weigh their income against the need to sit beside an incubator, hold a tiny hand, or advocate for their baby's care. They will now be given the space to focus on what matters most: being there.

This is not just policy—it’s empathy in action.

Too many families have endured the impossible choice between staying in work and staying by their baby’s hospital bedside. That choice should never have existed in the first place. Now, we’ve taken a meaningful step to remove it.

As your MP, I welcome this new entitlement wholeheartedly. It is a reminder that government can act with humanity—that we can pass laws not only to stimulate the economy, but also to reflect the compassion we owe one another.

And we must go further still. Because the test of any government is how it treats people in their most vulnerable moments.

To every parent who has shared their story, campaigned tirelessly, or simply kept going through the longest nights in NICU wards—this change is yours.

Let’s keep building a country where no one is left to struggle alone.