‘MPs must give babies a voice in Parliament on September 4’

Babies are too often invisible in politics. They can’t tell us when support around their family is missing. They can’t vote. They can’t write to their MP when a parent is overwhelmed, when support is missing, when help arrives late, or when services quietly disappear from view. But the decisions we make in Parliament shape the support available to babies, parents, and carers during the 1,001 critical days from pregnancy to age two, one of the most important periods of human development.

That’s why I’m supporting the Infants, Parents and Carers Bill, known as the Babies Bill, ahead of its Second Reading on Friday.

The Bill was introduced by Sir Desmond Swayne MP, who came first in the Private Members’ Bill ballot. But this is a genuine cross-party opportunity. Babies aren’t party political. Neither is the need for parents and carers to have trusted support when they need it most.

Why the 1,001 days from pregnancy to age two matter

What many people don’t realise is that the period from pregnancy to age two is a fundamental stage of human development. A baby’s brain and body develop at extraordinary speed during these 1,001 days. If we could see the development of what’s happening in real time, I think we would talk about babies very differently in politics. 

The period isn’t simply another stage of the early years. It is the foundation upon which so much else is built: emotional security; language development; physical health; resilience; attachment; and future capability. Relationships, responsive care, safety, stress, and the conditions around parents and carers all shape how babies grow and develop. It’s a critical period when timely support can make an exceptional difference.

That should matter deeply to every MP. If we believe a child’s life chances should not be determined by the circumstances into which they are born, then our commitment to equal opportunity cannot begin at the school gate. It must begin with babies, families, and the support around them from the very start. 

What the Babies Bill would change

The Babies Bill offers a timely opportunity to place the 1,001 critical days, from pregnancy to age two, onto the statute book and establish an enduring legal foundation for support delivered through Best Start Family Hubs and the Healthy Babies Programme. The Bill is focused and practical. It would require the government to do three things:

First, assess need: understand what babies, parents, and carers – as well as prospective parents and carers – need.

Second, strengthen information and support: put a stronger legal foundation beneath the information and services families rely on during pregnancy and the first two years, including support such as maternity care, health visiting, infant feeding, preparation for parenthood, perinatal mental health, and parent-infant relationship support.  

Third, improve accountability: require the government to report to Parliament annually on the support being provided and the difference it is making. That accountability matters. Reporting is not bureaucracy for its own sake. It’s how Parliament sees whether babies and families are getting the support they have been promised.

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Too often, the importance of support for babies and families is warmly acknowledged in speeches, only for that support to become vulnerable when budgets tighten or political attention moves elsewhere. A statutory foundation would make it harder for support during pregnancy and the period to age two to be quietly deprioritised. This isn’t about creating a new system or another layer of bureaucracy. It’s about giving stronger protection and clearer accountability to support that families rely on. 

It’s also about making sure babies are visible in law, policy, and public services, not just when politicians talk about children’s futures, but when decisions are made about the support available at the very beginning of life. 

Prevention isn’t a slogan

As a former Public Health and Prevention Minister, and as someone who has campaigned for decades on children’s health and wellbeing, I know how often policy intervenes after harm has already happened. We spend too much time responding to crises and too little time building the conditions that help children thrive from the start. 

There’s a cost to that delay. Ten years ago, the Early Intervention Foundation estimated that the state was spending nearly £17 billion a year in England and Wales on late intervention: the acute, statutory, and essential services needed when children experience significant difficulties – many of which might have been prevented. No single piece of legislation will remove those costs overnight. But the figure should force us to ask a serious question: why do we keep accepting the price of acting late while failing to protect the support that helps babies and families earlier? 

If we are serious about prevention, babies, parents, and carers cannot be an afterthought. Supporting families during pregnancy and the first two years is not just the right thing to do, it’s how we help children grow up healthier, help parents before they reach breaking point, and reduce the pressure on public services left to pick up the pieces later.

That’s the heart of the Babies Bill: acting earlier, before distress deepens, before families are left to cope alone, and before problems become harder to solve.

Early support is better for children, better for parents and carers, and better for society. Babies’ early experiences don’t just shape childhood, they influence the adults that children become and, in turn, the society we build. If we want stronger families, healthier communities, and public services under less pressure, we can’t keep waiting until problems have become entrenched before we act.

MPs need to show up on 4 September

MPs need to show up on Friday. I know from personal experience that Private Members’ Bills are fragile things. I urge Labour colleagues to attend the Bill’s Second Reading, support its progress, and help ensure that the 1,001 days from pregnancy to age two are given the priority they deserve. 

It’s a chance to bring Members from all sides of the House together around a simple principle: every baby deserves the best start in life.

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