Latest news with #LukeCharters
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
'Every dad should be able to put their child first', says MP
Yorkshire MP Luke Charters recently became the first MP to take extended paternity leave, just as the government began a review of parental leave and pay. Fathers in the region told the BBC current laws fail them and their families, especially the self-employed who often can't take any leave at all. "I'm a dad first and an MP second," Luke Charters explained as he began four weeks of paternity leave following the birth of his second 29-year-old Labour MP's office manager will cover his work in the York Outer constituency while he is away."Every dad should be able to put their child first and I think better paternity leave will help them do exactly that," he says."Hard-working dads who are freelancers or self-employed deserve paternity leave too, they deserve those precious memories at the start of their child's life."He adds: "It is important that they can do that essential caregiving and they can support their partner." Many new fathers struggle to take any paternity leave at all. Stefan Bratu, 40, from Leeds, says he and his partner Rose are not sure if they will be able to have a second cannot receive statutory paternity leave and pay if they are self-employed or earn less than £125 a says his new role as a self-employed senior business analyst means he would have to fit another baby around his ability to take unpaid leave. "I'll be honest, the idea of a second baby feels one million miles away," he says."I don't get holidays, sickness, anything like that, so taking considerable time off to help look after another baby without being paid would be financially really tough."Stefan says even having two weeks off at a statutory weekly rate of either £187.18 or 90% of a father's average weekly earnings - whichever is lower - was "upsetting" after his son was born as he didn't like leaving his partner on her is involved with Dadshift, a group which has been campaigning for better paternity leave in the Alex Lloyd Hunter says a lack of decent paternity leave and pay means fathers "can't be as present as they want"."Without longer, properly-paid paternity leave, new mums are left struggling alone, dads and non-birthing parents face an impossible choice between bonding with their baby and earning to pay the bills," he says. "Children miss out on all the benefits to their development and happiness that comes from having their dad around." Tom Clements lives in Leeds with his wife and two children and is about to end his paternity daughter Betty was born two weeks ago and he says the brief leave period is not enough time to bond with a newborn."On this occasion my wife had a C-section and she needs more support," he says."When I go back to work it means that she's going to be put under incredible amounts of pressure and that changed parental leave would make such a difference." Support network Self-employed wedding photographer Barnaby Aldrick, 45, who lives in Leeds with wife Lindsay and their two young children, says he had to plan booking work around having his children."Although being self-employed means I can be flexible and decide when to take time off, I feel like it means I have to plan this almost like a year and a half in advance because people book quite far ahead for their weddings," he says."You just have to use what you've earned and saved up and then try not to spend outside of your means."Barnaby is part of the Leeds Dads organisation which arranges events across the city for fathers to meet up, spend time with their children and build a support network. They have also been involved in campaigning for the government to review its parental leave Errol Murray, who set up the group 14 years ago, feels many companies mistakenly believe they would "lose out" should paternity leave be increased."They get all the money back from the government and the benefit for the companies is that they get loyalty from the individuals," he many small businesses are sceptical, as they would have to train more staff for short-term Murray says that targeted support for those businesses could ease the burden."I think what we need to have is a policy that works both for families and works for businesses as well," he says."At the end of the day you never do a more important job than being a mother or a father." Councillor Alan Lamb, on Leeds City Council, questions would will pay for better paternity leave and pay."I've got absolute sympathy with the fathers and families who want to spend quality time with their new children," he says."But there's a balance to strike with how much it costs and who is going to pay for it."With a big firm with a huge HR department, it's not too difficult to be able to do that - but when you get down to very small micro businesses or freelancers, it's much, much harder to be able to afford it and still cover the work that that person would do." Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds recently told BBC Breakfast the government was looking into paternity leave as it was "not particularly generous or supportive compared to other countries"."We also know that a lot of people just aren't taking it at all," he adds."One in three dads take no parental leave whatsoever - so this needs looking at it in a proper way."He said the review was being launched as it had been "a long time" since government had looked at the issue in the UK."Work has changed a lot, there are a lot more self-employed people and families have changed a lot," he said. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Telegraph
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Pro-Palestine thugs are becoming a threat to democracy
If you want to understand the mentality of 21st-century Leftists, you need to read a writer who died decades before they were born. Aldous Huxley is best known as the author of the dystopian novel Brave New World. But, in my view, his most chillingly brilliant lines are to be found in a foreword he supplied for an edition of Samuel Butler's Erewhon, in 1933. 'The surest way to work up a crusade in favour of some good cause,' wrote Huxley, 'is to promise people that they will have a chance of maltreating someone… To be able to destroy with a good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behaviour 'righteous indignation' – this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats.' I remember those words every time I read about the gleeful cruelty of modern progressive 'activists'. Such as the anti-Israel protesters who have taken to targeting Luke Charters, the Labour MP for York Outer. Last week, Mr Charters has revealed, a group of masked thugs flung a tin of baked beans at him in the street, while chanting, 'Labour, Labour, genocide.' Then, on Saturday, around 20 of them tried to block the entrance to his constituency surgery, while bellowing, 'Luke Charters, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide.' As a result, he says, several constituents were too scared to attend meetings they'd arranged with him. What on earth could possess someone to think it's acceptable to hurl a tin at an MP (or, indeed, anyone?). Huxley knew. These foaming narcissists clearly believe that their cause is so unimpeachably righteous, they're entitled to bully anyone who doesn't share their fanaticism. And they do it with the most jubilant relish. Of course, Mr Charters isn't the only MP to be plagued by such people. One night in February last year, a mob of anti-Israel protesters angrily demonstrated outside the family home of the then Tory MP Tobias Ellwood. And last July, the Labour MP Rushanara Ali said that during the election campaign she'd 'spent as much time talking to the police and responding to threats and hostilities as I did talking to voters'. Certain groups, she said, had been 'weaponising' what she called 'legitimate anger about what's happening' in Gaza. Such behaviour goes far beyond 'peaceful protest'. If frenzied mobs are not only intimidating MPs, but deterring their constituents from visiting them, there can be only one conclusion. Pro-Palestinian thugs are becoming a threat to democracy. Still, I don't suppose they care. These moral treats are so delicious, they couldn't possibly give them up.
Daily Mail
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Labour MP says he's being 'intimidated by pro-Palestine protesters' who have hurled baked beans at him - and now the community 'is too scared to meet with him'
A Labour MP has claimed he is being threatened by a group of masked pro-Palestinian activists who have blocked his constituency offices and even thrown a can of baked beans at him. Luke Charters, the MP for York Outer, said the activists have 'charged' him with genocide and used 'intimidating methods' to pressure him over the war in Gaza. He said he has become a target in his home town and over the weekend, protesters with megaphones attempted to block entry to his office, scaring away his constituents. Mr Charters has also claimed protesters chanting 'Labour, Labour, genocide' threw a can of baked beans at him at York's Pride parade earlier this month. Meanwhile in March, he says he found scratches on his car after being followed by a group of activists following a local Labour conference. Mr Charters, whose wife Beth is due to give birth next week, described the events as 'serious and unsettling'. He told The Times: 'I'm trying to support Beth as much as I can but instead I'm forced to explain what are really serious and unsettling incidents that lead to emergency responses to protect my safety. 'I'm a father first and an MP second… no father should have to go through that.' Police are investigating all three incidents, but two cases have already been dropped to a lack of evidence, it has been reported. Mr Charters, who was first elected to the House of Commons at the general election last year, said the actions of the protesters were 'growing in intensity'. He also said they had 'crossed a line' with regard to any attempt at carrying out a peaceful demonstration. Mr Charters has insisted that the protesters have not changed his mind on Gaza and that they will not deter him from carrying out his duties as an MP. 'If these people think this is going to deter me, they're wrong. I've got an even stronger resolve to work harder for my constituents,' he added. Mr Charters's comments on the protests come after a new report revealed that half of MPs feel unsafe because of threats made by the public. Meanwhile, last year a damning dossier disclosed by The Telegraph revealed almost 40 incidents of MPs and councillors being 'intimidated' by pro-Palestine protesters. Mr Charters has backed the Government's position on the conflict in the Middle East, describing the level of suffering in Gaza as 'utterly intolerable'. He was also in favour of the decision to suspend talks on a trade deal with Israel last month. Sir Keir Starmer, however, has been under sustained pressure to take a harder stance on Israel - suspending all arms exports and recognising Palestine as a state. In a separate attack, he was also accused by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of 'emboldening Hamas'. Labour MP Luke Pollard - the Armed Forces minister - later flatly rejected Mr Netanyahu's remarks about Sir Keir. Mr Pollard told LBC: 'I don't agree with those comments. 'We condemn in the fullest possible terms the murder of the Israeli diplomats in the US. That is completely unacceptable. 'But the argument that we have been making about how we bring peace to Israel and to the Palestinians is with a restoration of the immediate ceasefire. 'With Hamas releasing the hostages without any further delay and for massive amounts of aid to get into Gaza to give the Palestinians the food, water and medical support that they need. 'Now that's an argument we've been making consistently, publicly, but also privately. 'We're going to continue doing that, because what we're seeing, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, is unacceptable. I think everyone will be able to see that that's unacceptable. 'We oppose Hamas. We oppose the awful atrocities they committed on 7th October, and that is the reason why we want to see peace. 'The only way to achieve that two-state solution that is good for Israelis and Palestinians alike is a restoration of the ceasefire, the hostages released and aid delivered to the people who really need it.' Mr Pollard also stressed that Britain stood with Israel in their right to self defence, 'but that self defence must be conducted within the bounds of international humanitarian law'.
Telegraph
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Pro-Palestinian protesters ‘intimidating' Labour MP
A Labour MP has claimed he is being threatened by a group of pro-Palestinian activists 'charging' him with genocide. Luke Charters, the MP for York Outer, said he had become a target in his home town for masked protesters using increasingly intimidating methods to pressure him over the war in Gaza. The MP said activists with megaphones and posters attempted to block entry to his office over the weekend, scaring away his constituents. He also claimed a group of protesters chanting 'Labour, Labour, genocide' threw a can of baked beans at him at York's Pride parade earlier this month. In March, he found scratches on his car after he was targeted by activists following a local Labour conference. Police have investigated all three incidents, according to The Times, but two were dropped over evidential problems. It comes after a new report revealed that half of MPs feel unsafe because of threats made from the public. Mr Charters, who was first elected to the Commons last year, said he had been forced to explain the string of 'serious and unsettling' events to his pregnant wife, who is due to give birth next week. He told The Times: 'I'm trying to support Beth as much as I can but instead I'm forced to explain what are really serious and unsettling incidents that lead to emergency responses to protect my safety. 'I'm a father first and an MP second… no father should have to go through that.' 'Growing intensity' He said there had been a 'growing intensity' to the tactics, with any attempt at peaceful protest having 'crossed a line'. But he said the activists had failed to change his mind on Gaza, and insisted he would not be deterred from carrying out his duties as an MP. Mr Charters has supported the Government's position on the conflict, backing the decision to suspend talks on a trade deal with Israel last month. At the time, he said it was 'clear' that the situation in Gaza 'must not continue for a moment longer', and described the level of suffering as 'utterly intolerable'. Sir Keir Starmer has taken an increasingly hard stance on the war, sanctioning two Israeli ministers in a significant escalation last week. But he has come under sustained pressure to go further, with MPs urging him to recognise Palestine as a state and suspend all arms exports to Israel. Reflecting on the protests, Mr Charters said: 'I'm not going to stop. I'm going to keep doing face-to-face surgeries. 'They're trying to disrupt what is quite a fundamental part of an MP's job – to meet their constituents and try to listen and stand up for them. 'I grew up in York. I am bringing my family up here, and I've been elected to serve here. I know this is not what 99.99 per cent of my constituents are. 'If these people think this is going to deter me, they're wrong. I've got an even stronger resolve to work harder for my constituents. And, in fact, it doesn't change my views about Gaza as well.' Mr Charters is calling for a change in the law to ban protests in and around MPs' surgeries, some of which have been targeted by activists campaigning against the war in Gaza.
The Guardian
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘I'm a dad first, an MP second': Labour's Luke Charters on breaking paternity leave taboo
When the Labour MP Luke Charters announced he was planning on taking at least four weeks paternity leave when his second son was born, he received dozens of messages of support and encouragement from constituents. But among the congratulations, one grumpy social media user had posted: 'I hope you have a good rest.' 'I snapped back and said that view is part of the problem,' he says, speaking from the House of Commons. 'Paternity leave – any parental leave – is not rest, it's essential caregiving at the start of a child's life.' This summer the 29-year-old will become the first male MP to take extended parental leave and employ a locum, his office manager, to cover his constituency work while he is away. 'Being an MP is a privilege. It's one of the busiest jobs in Britain, but I've got to be a dad first and an MP second,' says the Labour member for York Outer. 'I think it's really important to kind of model that behaviour and sort of lead by example.' Charters is a part of a new group of MPs agitating for better leave for fathers, not only because it is good for them and their kids, but also because it is a way of steering young men away from 'toxic influencers' and the lure of Reform. With only two statutory weeks of leave – paid at £184.03 a week – the UK has one of the worst paternity leave offerings in Europe; recent research found one in three UK fathers took no paternity leave after the birth of their child. But after many years of female MPs and campaign groups arguing that better parental leave for fathers would improve gender equality and boost productivity in the UK, the paternity leave push has gained traction in recent months. On Monday the cross-party women and equalities select committee called for new fathers to be given six weeks off work, arguing that the UK's statutory parental leave system was 'one of the worst in the developed world' and had 'fundamental flaws'. Two days later, after a spending review from Rachel Reeves that did not improve the deal for fathers, the Dad Shift campaign group organised a dad strike in which men and their babies gathered outside the Department for Business and Trade in London. Meanwhile, MPs wrote to parliament's spending watchdog to urge it to increase the amount of paid paternity leave given to its staffers, reported Politics Home. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) replied with the news that a change was in the works, the Guardian has learned: qualifying new fathers would now get four weeks of paid leave, rather than two. Ipsa was 'continually looking at ways to support a family-friendly parliament', said its chair, Richard Lloyd. Alex Latham-Reynolds, who works for the MP and paternity leave campaigner Shaun Davies, will likely be the first father to get the enhanced offer when he takes time off in September to welcome his new son. 'From our perspective, and definitely from my perspective, it's a big win,' he says. 'I think it shows there's a shift in perspective happening, that the importance of dads being around is being recognised.' The battle for better parental leave for MPs and staff in Westminster has been protracted. Stella Creasy, the MP for Walthamstow, became the first to use a pilot providing full locum cover for her first child in 2020. A year later the government pushed through a bill giving ministers access to six months of maternity leave on full pay. Earlier this year, the secretary of state for Scotland, Ian Murray, became the first cabinet minister to take full paternity leave, following the birth of his second child. Things are changing, says Charters. 'This is a much younger parliament, you see a lot of toddlers and babies now, probably more than you have done in the past.' He hopes by taking extended paternity leave – and talking about it – he can encourage others to join the push for change. 'My message is: we're fighting for you to have enhanced paternity leave regardless of how busy your job is. If you can, do spend those important first few weeks with your son or daughter, building those lifelong memories. Nothing is more important.'
