Stella Creasy is wrong about the 'motherhood penalty'

If you find yourself frazzled by the Christmas rush, spare a thought for Stella Creasy, MP for Walthamstow, who is struggling to balance motherhood and her hectic social schedule. The other day she tweeted: ‘As I walk past everyone going to Christmas parties and drinks on my way to get the kids from nursery, yet again acutely aware the motherhood penalty is just a gift that keeps giving…. Not just flexible working we need but flexible networking too.’

It’s tough, no? Having to put the drinks parties (and remember, half of political life is conducted on the social front) on hold to do the active parenting of two children is a trade-off. But those with larger families or less pay than an MP might observe that this trade-off is precisely what having children is about. You can’t do the things you did as your childless self after you’ve procreated. They too have their little social lives – the parties, the Nativity play (if Stella’s school engages in that sort of thing), festive baking – which unavoidably impinges on their parents’ important socialising.