Tory MP is bringing her six-month-old son to the House of Commons so she can vote to ensure Brexit happens
Andrea Jenkyns will drop off baby Clifford in a cot in her Parliamentary office so she can turn out to help secure the passage of the EU Withdrawal Bill
A TORY MP is cutting her maternity leave short and bringing her six-month-old son to the House of Commons tonight so she can vote to make sure Brexit happens.
Andrea Jenkyns will drop off baby Clifford in a cot in her Parliamentary office so she can turn out to help secure the safe passage of the EU Withdrawal Bill.
With Theresa May working with a wafer-thin majority the Morley and Outwood MP has found it tough to take time off since the birth of her child in March.
And with the potential for a rebellion of pro-EU Tories Ms Jenkyns confirmed she will be bringing the tot into the Commons for tonight’s critical vote.
She said: "After the general election, it looked unlikely I would get any leave. I finally got permission to take this month off, but was told I would need to come in and vote on the bill.
“I'll put Clifford in a cot in my office while I wait for the balloting, which is expected to go on into the early hours.
“He's a really good baby, but I can't say it's not exhausting."
The 43-year-old, who defeated Ed Balls to win her seat in 2015, will be voting alongside Clifford’s father the fellow Toy MP Jack Lopresti.
It comes as Labour have been thrown into turmoil on tonight’s vote – with a host of MPs set to defy Jeremy Corbyn’s call to block it.
The former Europe minister Caroline Flint minister will ignore her party’s three-line whip in tonight’s debate on what she called “the most important constitutional piece of legislation” since 1972.
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The House of Commons is expected to be debating the bill, which transfers 40 years of EU law onto the British statute book, until gone midnight.
Labour have instructed its MPs to vote it down, saying it amounts to a power grab by the Government as it allows minister to use so-called “Henry VIII” clauses to alter laws without full parliamentary scrutiny.
But Ms Flint said it was an error to oppose the bill and she would not follow the party line, saying: “I believe Labour's job is to improve this Bill, not kill it as it begins its passage through parliament.”
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: "I don't believe that affecting that is what the British people want."
Also speaking this morning was Boris Johnson, who said the withdrawal bill was vital for a smooth Brexit and that we “need to get this great ship launched”.
The Foreign Secretary said: “If we don’t do that then the whole thing will be disorderly and chaotic.
“People who vote against it will effectively be voting to frustrate Brexit by producing a completely chaotic result.”