Tulip Siddiq, who made history as the first MP to vote by proxy, said having a female prime minister helped drive the change in the law.

The Labour MP told Sky News she felt "humiliated" when she was ferried into the House of Commons in a wheelchair, a day before giving birth to her son Raphael.

Ms Siddiq delayed her planned Caesarean section by 24 hours to vote against the prime minister's Brexit deal two weeks ago - but on Monday, a one-year trial of proxy voting was approved in the Commons.

The following night, her nominated colleague Vicky Foxcroft was in constant contact as she voted on Ms Siddiq's behalf in a series of amendments.


Other MPs who are new parents will now be able to nominate a colleague to cast a ballot on their behalf.

In an interview, Ms Siddiq said: "For years and years, I worked in parliament and there weren't that many women, let alone women with children. I never thought there would be anything like proxy voting."

In a swipe at her own party, she added: "We were in government for 13 years and sadly these things didn't happen.

"We now have a lot more women, and women at senior levels, so it has make a big difference having Theresa May as prime minister, Andrea Leadsom as leader of the house, Harriet Harman as mother of the house, Valerie Vaz as shadow leader of the house.

"There wasn't really a will for it before, to change the archaic workings of parliament."

Image: Tulip Siddiq used a wheelchair as she was due to give birth

The MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, who was elected in 2015, said despite being from the opposing party, having a woman in Downing Street had "made a real difference".

Ms Siddiq said: "When I went in, in a wheelchair, the prime minister came over and spoke to me in the chamber.

"She was about to lose the biggest vote of her life and she made the time to come over and speak to me for quite a long time saying she was sorry to see me in this position, she knew that things needed to be changed, she didn't think I should be there the day before I was due to have a baby.

"She expressed a lot of sympathy and I was grateful."

The issue of proxy voting was put under the spotlight after a breakdown in the "pairing" system used by MPs who cannot attend votes. An MP from a rival party, who is their pair, agrees to sit the vote out.

But Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson, who had a baby son last summer and missed a vote when he was two weeks old, was furious when her pair - the Tory party chairman Brandon Lewis - voted anyway. He later apologised for breaking the agreement.

Ms Siddiq, who also has a two-year-old, made headlines when she was wheeled into parliament by her husband, and then into the voting lobby by her colleague Clive Lewis.

"It was a bit humiliating, in all honesty," she said. "The baby was big, he was on the 90th percentile and I'd had steroid injections the day before. I was very uncomfortable. But I'm a politician, I couldn't wear my PJs...

"It really felt wrong, it felt like having to make a decision between being a good mother and looking after my health and casting my vote.

"All I know is I really didn't feel I could sit home when I knew the future of the country is at stake. Brexit is so important to my constituents. I have 22,000 EU nationals, one of the highest in the country."

Ms Siddiq said there was a "long way to go" before parliament could be deemed a family friendly workplace, and that proxy voting should be extended to MPs with serious illness.

Amid a row about the decision to cancel February half-term for MPs, she said: "The hours are incredibly unfriendly for families.

"I've voted at 1am or 2am, should you really be making decisions for the country at 1am or 2am? There are lots of things that could be changed about parliament. It's not an easy place to have a family, not just for women for men as well."

Ms Siddiq has asked for her proxy vote to last for two months, and has not decided how much maternity leave to take as it "depends on Brexit", but was doing constituency casework from her hospital bed.

As for Raphael, sleeping on his mother's lap for most of our interview, he is likely to be watching a lot of parliamentary proceedings.

Ms Siddiq added: "I hope he grows up to be a feminist."