‘I’m a dad first, an MP second’: Labour’s Luke Charters on breaking paternity leave taboo

Luke Charters, who is to become the first male MP to take extended parental leave and employ a locum to cover his constituency work. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

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.”