Moment Labour MP Stella Creasy is sworn into Parliament with her baby in a sling

Rebecca Speare-Cole18 December 2019
WEST END FINAL

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Labour MP Stella Creasy carried her baby in a sling today as she was sworn into Parliament while on maternity leave.

The MP for Walthamstow shared footage of the moment on Instagram as she took the oath of allegiance to the Crown in the House of Commons accompanied by her daughter Hettie.

Ms Creasy said that she had to come into work to swear in as an MP so that she could take her entitled time off and ensure Walthamstow "still gets a vote".

Kizzy Gardiner, 35, will handle most of the constituency case work while Martin Whitfield, Labour MP for East Lothian, will act as Ms Creasy’s proxy, voting on her behalf in any Parliamentary ballots.

Ms Creasy wrote on Wednesday: "Under current parliamentary procedure I had to go in today to swear in so that I can have maternity leave and Walthamstow still gets a vote via my proxy...

Teamwork: Stella Creasy with her locum Kizzy Gardiner in Portcullis House
Daniel Hambury/@stellapicsltd

"Thankfully hettie not too bothered by the mother of all parliaments."

Social media users lauded the MP, branding her an "absolute legend" and "100% awesome". One also wrote: "Amazing to see this in Parliament!"

Labour MP for Walthamstow Stella Creasy carries her baby daughter on election night
REUTERS

It comes after she was praised online last week for appearing live on Sky News cradling her then-two-week-old baby.

Ms Creasy, 42, who has just secured her Walthamstow seat by a landslide, was speaking to news anchor Dermot Murnaghan, as she discussed the results of the 2019 election as they unfolded.

Stella Creasy in the Commons
Universal News (Europe)

One Twitter user wrote: "Trying to look for something positive on what has been a very bleak night. Great to see Stella Creasy being interviewed with her two-week-old baby, having been re-elected as an MP."

Another added: "Stella Creasy is a queen. Two week old baby and still a rock solid legend."

A third commented: "Watching Stella Creasy being interviewed wearing her two-week-old daughter. What a mother."

Ms Creasy had to win a lengthy argument with the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) for it to provide support to her constituency during maternity leave.

Ipsa demanded medical certificates to prove she was pregnant, and official paperwork to demonstrate that her absence would affect the people of Walthamstow.

The MP, who has been targetted by the anti-abortion group CBR UK and its #StopStella campaign, told the Standard in November that certain attacks she has faced could be compared to a hate crime.

“If it was about my skin colour, or my religion, or my sexuality, people would go, ‘That’s a hate crime,’” she said. “Misogyny is a big blind spot.”

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