Labour MP Stella Creasy laments the 'motherhood penalty' stopping her from going to Christmas parties

A Labour MP has sparked an online backlash after lamenting how she's no longer able to go to Christmas parties because of her children.

Stella Creasy blamed the 'motherhood penalty' for leaving her unable to attend festive bashes.

The term refers to the idea that working mothers encounter disadvantages in pay, perceived competence and benefits relative to childless women.

The former shadow minister posted on social media site X on Wednesday: '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.'

But Ms Creasy's comments were declared insensitive to women who cannot afford childcare – given that she earns more than £81,000 a year.

Tory MP Vicky Ford, the former children, families and wellbeing minister, branded the comments 'shocking', adding: 'No one should treat their children as "penalties".

'Being a mum can be tiring and tough, but it can also be the biggest blessing of joy and love. 

'As a mum of now 'grown-up' kids, my advice is don't be so busy you forget to enjoy the precious time you get. Time really does fly and you'll miss those moments when they leave home!'

Writer and campaigner Jeni Harvey said Ms Creasy's post was 'tone deaf', adding: 'You have a partner, childcare and you earn 80 grand a year.

'Motherhood certainly can be socially isolating and restrictive in terms of employment opportunities, but you are more cushioned from these effects than the vast, vast majority of women.'

Responding to one critic who suggested that fathers, like himself, could easily stay home with children while mothers headed to parties, Ms Creasy said: 'Do you want a medal for looking after them in this context? It's not a competition but a reflection of a working environment built on idea of one breadwinner.'

Mother-of-two Ms Creasy, whose partner is political campaigner Dan Fox, was the first MP to appoint a 'locum' to manage consultancy work.

In 2021, she complained that 'mothers in the mother of all parliaments are not to be seen or heard' after receiving a warning for bringing her three-month-old son to a debate in the Commons. 

Last year she faced a similar backlash after sharing a picture of her and her son leaving Parliament at 1am, where she had stayed late to vote on a bill. 

She repeated accusations that the House of Commons was not a supportive place to work for mothers, saying: 'Tell me again this system is family friendly.'

Last night Ms Creasy told the Mail: 'If Tory MPs with nothing better to do won't learn to google, they might at least want to speak to their own ministers, select committees, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and any number of academic and research organisations who all use the term 'motherhood penalty' as part of understanding the gender pay gap in this country.

'Even better, they could stop wasting all our time with their faux outrage and actually put some effort into doing something about the equal pay gap instead of trying to shame parents for trying to balance their work and family commitments.'