From paternity leave to women’s toilets, the 2024 intake of Labour MPs aren’t afraid to challenge traditions and taboos.
It has only been a year, but they’ve already left an indelible mark on Parliament.
Containing the highest number and proportion of new MPs ever, the 2024 intake was a watershed moment in British politics.
Indeed, Parliament has never been more diverse. Women now make up 41% of the House, ethnic minorities make up 14%, and there are also 64 MPs who openly identify as LGBTQ+.
Speaking to LabourList, Labour MP Emily Darlington said things are better for female MPs than they were in the past.
“Not being asked to make the tea, so that’s good, but maybe that’s because we don’t have tea at our meetings anymore”, she joked.
She said the new intake were “much more about what works rather than what tradition is”.
How MPs dress is one issue the new intake are less concerned with than their predecessors.
“You’re thinking, why would you have that rule that seems really silly? Isn’t it more important how I behave in the chamber than what I have on my feet, or whether my shoulders aren’t covered?”
One of the most unusual – and often controversial – aspects of life in Parliament is it’s possible to drink alcohol there. Strangers bar has become particularly notorious in recent years, with the bar closed in January of this year over an alleged spiking spiking incident.
It was only after that that Darlington was able to successfully push for CCTV to be installed in the bar.
“When the whole issue came up about CCTV and strangers, I was told pretty bluntly it would never happen – but it has.
“I think because the new MPs were just like, well, every other place that you drink in the entire country you have CCTV, and you shouldn’t be behaving like that.
“It’s just a change of generation, isn’t it?”
She said she found it “odd” to be able to drink alcohol in the workplace, but it was important to have a space to relax and talk to people from other parties.
“I just think it’s changed in its tone, in the sense that it feels more comfortable for everyone. I think everyone would say that since the CCTV has been brought in there are a lot more women in that space now.”
Toilets are another area Parliament has seen improvements in. “We had no idea, we didn’t know we were in a broom closet.”
But women now have the bigger toilet on the yes side of the lobby, while men have the bigger one on the no side.
Like Darlington, Cat Eccles, the MP for Stourbridge, said she found some of the rules and traditions frustrating.
“We were just talking earlier about the unwritten and unspoken female dress code that gets unevenly applied.
“So there’s these unspoken rules that women should not show their shoulders, (or) their toes, and you might not be told about it, but the speaker might just not call you to speak.”
However, she said she had seen MPs be called to speak even when their shoulders were uncovered.
You know all these really old nonsense rules I think, make it like wading through treacle when actually it doesn’t need to be that difficult. But I feel like I’m just about getting there with figuring out how we get stuff done.”
Eccles has spoken in the past about being autistic, and said the arcane rules don’t help.
“As someone that’s neurodiverse I’ve got an even harder time with reading between the lines without like ‘pretend’ rules as well.”
She joked that working in Parliament reminded her of working in a hospital.
“You’re in this big old building that doesn’t really do what it’s supposed to do. Lots of people think they’re more important than they are.
“And then obviously the whole swathe of house staff that just keep everything going.”
New intake men have also been making strides in improving conditions in Parliament.
Luke Charters, the MP for York Outer, is determined to break the paternity leave taboo for MPs.
“I’m trying to make a big song and dance about it.”
He said he was taking “at least four weeks off” and would be appointing a locum representative to manage his constituency office while he’s away.
“They can’t speak in the chamber, but they can run my surgery, sign off my casework, sign off my letters, sign off my expenses and all of that. And if I didn’t have that, I’d rush back to work.”
He said he knew of another male colleague who only took two weeks off because he was nervous of the reaction.
“I’m a dad first, I’m an MP second.”
One of the pieces of advice Keir Starmer gave him when he was a candidate was “always make time for your family”.
“I genuinely think it was one of those early pieces of advice that gave me the confidence to do this.”
Euan Stainbank, the MP for Falkirk. is also determined to work on his work life balance. Asked what the one piece of advice he would give himself would be if he could travel back in time to the night he became an MP, he said: “Take care of how much you sleep.”
“I often get a bit neglectful of the need for sleep, but now that I’m definitely working at a higher intensity than I ever have before, you need to really value how much then you rest, so that you can be the most effective representative.
“And it’s certainly something that I need to get better at adjusting to.”
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