More than a quarter of Labour MPs have written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging him to increase statutory paternity leave in the next budget, arguing that the lowest-paid fathers are hardest hit by the current provision. The letter, coordinated by Labour peer Frances O'Grady and MPs Maya Ellis and Jon Pearce, calls on Burnham and Chancellor John Healey to help families with babies, who they say are at the "sharp end of the cost of living crisis."
The Guardian understands that almost half of Labour's 403 MPs have explicitly supported improvement to paternity leave, including two secretaries of state, 11 ministers, six whips and nearly two dozen parliamentary private secretaries. "That's nearly a quarter of all government office holders, and plenty more have indicated support in private," said one supporter.
Letter urges 'obvious' step to tackle cost of living
In the letter, seen by the Guardian, parliamentarians urge the prime minister to take the "obvious" step of increasing paid paternity leave to alleviate the cost of living crisis. They point out that in Burnham's constituency of Makerfield, half of all fathers will not be able to afford to take paternity leave.
Noting that, according to HMRC data, more leave is taken in south-east England and London than in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and north-west and north-east England combined, and that 90% of the paternity leave that is claimed goes to higher earners, the letter argues that giving fathers six weeks' leave paid at 90% of earnings would result in £2.6bn in economic growth. It adds that it would be "good growth, which sorting out the above geographic disparities would deliver into every postcode."
Growing consensus among Labour ranks
O'Grady said there was a growing consensus in the Labour ranks that the eye-catching policy would be welcomed by voters, particularly among blue-collar workers, who were most likely to miss out on paternity leave. "I think the moment has come, because I do think Andy Burnham has shown that he gets the pressures of everyday life," she said. "He promised hope in every heart and I can't think of a better way of building that optimism in our future than giving a better start to babies. This could genuinely transform everyday lives, and it's something that people would cherish for ever."
Campaigners have long argued that the UK has one of the least generous paternity offers in the world, with the UK ranked 40th out of 43 OECD countries. Employed fathers in the UK get two weeks' statutory paternity leave paid at £187.18 a week (less than half the "national living wage"), which accounts for only 1.9% of all government spending on parental leave.
Pressure builds from charities and campaign groups
At the start of the month, 48 charities, unions and academics called on Burnham to overhaul parental leave to make having a family more financially viable. The group – which included the Fawcett Society, Movember, the TUC and Mumsnet – warned that the current system resulted in "stark" consequences, with a report last year by Maternity Action finding that 55% of women on maternity leave said they borrowed money to cover their living costs.
"This is not just a question of how we support families in the first year of a child's life," they wrote. "It is about what kind of society and economy we want to build; financial pressures make parenthood less attractive and less feasible, with significant implications for the economy and society."
In August, thousands of parents took part in a "parent strike" organised by the campaign groups Mother Pukka and the Dad Shift to call for better parental leave, with demonstrations in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Brighton and Oxford. George Gabriel, a co-founder of the Dad Shift, said: "With working families expecting a newborn among the most exposed to the price shocks and proof in country after country that improving paternity leave boosts women's economic prospects, this is one of a tiny handful of policies that is both a measure to drive good growth in every postcode and to tackle the cost of living."
A government spokesperson said it was determined to make sure that dads and partners can be there to provide support to their families after childbirth. "Changes we've already made brought an additional 32,000 partners into scope for paternity leave and we are carrying out a full review of parental pay and leave to ensure we reflect the realities of modern work and childcare."
