11-08-2025
Labour council tells staff to stop calling parents ‘mother and father'
A Labour-run council has instructed staff to stop using the words 'mother' and 'father ' to refer to parents.
Officials from Merton Council, in south-west London, say 'caregivers' is more appropriate as it does not make assumptions about a children's biological parents.
The guidance is contained in a 27-page inclusive language guide compiled by the equality, diversity and inclusion team to encourage the use of 'gender-neutral' and 'person-centred' language.
Other 'tips and suggested language' include avoiding gendered phrases such as 'man, mankind and workmanship' and instead saying, 'humans, humankind and quality of work or skills'.
The guide adds that descriptive words in general – including references to race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion or age – are off the table unless they are 'relevant and valid'.
In the section relating to age, the guide advises that staff 'avoid general terms as these imply that people of certain
age groups or generations are a homogenous group, failing to recognise people's individuality'.
Rather than 'old' or 'young', staff are advised to say 'mature individual', 'elderly person', or 'young person'.
The council has even suggested banning the phrases 'man the phones' and 'man-made' in favour of 'attend the phones' and 'artificial'.
Under advice to 'respect the preferences' of gender-neutral people, staff leading workshops have been warned against opening with 'welcome, ladies and gentlemen', with 'welcome to friends and colleagues' recommended as an alternative.
Lord Young of Acton, the founder and general secretary of the Free Speech Union, said: 'I'm amazed that Merton council has time for this nonsense.
'I can only assume fly-tipping and potholes aren't a problem in Merton.'
A council spokesman insisted: 'We aim to communicate with understanding and without making assumptions.'
The council has previously come under fire as The Telegraph revealed it was the local authority with the highest percentage of minor roads in need of maintenance throughout England and Wales.
According to analysis of Department for Transport (DfT) data, nearly 40 per cent of the borough's roads had potholes and were in need of major repairs.
The data also showed the council had only fixed a mere 6.4 per cent of stretches needing attention.
