Pressure grows on Burnham to commit to increasing statutory paternity leave
Andy Burnham is facing mounting pressure from Labour MPs to commit to increasing statutory paternity leave ahead of the chancellor's first budget next month, with 105 MPs writing to him to argue that boosting provision is an "obvious" way to ease the cost of living crisis. Support spans nearly half of Labour's 403 MPs, including ministers, whips and secretaries of state, reflecting a view among backbenchers that the policy would be popular with voters, particularly lower-paid fathers who currently cannot afford to take leave.
The letter, coordinated by peer Frances O'Grady with MPs Maya Ellis and Jon Pearce, calls for six weeks' paternity leave paid at 90% of earnings, arguing this would generate £2.6bn in economic growth and help address regional disparities in who currently claims leave. The UK ranks 40th out of 43 OECD countries on paternity provision, with fathers currently entitled to just two weeks at £187.18 a week, less than half the national living wage. The government's own parental leave review is due in December, but many MPs want Burnham to act sooner.
- 105 Labour MPs urge Burnham to boost paternity leave before the budget
- UK ranks 40th of 43 OECD countries on paternity leave generosity
- Proposal: six weeks' leave at 90% pay, said to add £2.6bn to growth
New here? Start with this
Andy Burnham is Labour's deputy prime minister, and he is under pressure ahead of the chancellor's first budget to boost statutory paternity leave, which currently gives fathers just two weeks off work at £187.18 a week, well below the national living wage. This has left the UK near the bottom of international league tables for paternity provision, and campaigners argue that many lower-paid fathers simply cannot afford to take the leave they are entitled to.
The push is coming from within Labour's own ranks: more than a hundred of the party's MPs, including some ministers, have signed a letter calling for a much more generous scheme of six weeks' leave paid at 90% of earnings. The letter was organised by peer Frances O'Grady along with MPs Maya Ellis and Jon Pearce, who argue the change would ease living costs for young families and deliver a wider economic benefit.
The government is already carrying out its own review of parental leave policy, but that is not due to report until December, after the budget. This has created tension between MPs wanting a swift commitment and a government that may prefer to wait for its review before deciding on any changes.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates argue that Britain's paternity offer is genuinely meagre by international standards, and that two weeks at £187.18 a week effectively prices lower-paid fathers out of taking any leave at all, entrenching unequal caregiving and holding back women's careers. They see a budget commitment as a low-cost, high-return intervention – citing the £2.6bn growth estimate – that would ease cost-of-living pressure on new families, reduce regional disparities in uptake, and deliver a popular, tangible improvement to working people's lives that fits Labour's stated values on family and fairness.
The case against
Sceptics, while sympathetic to the aim, argue that committing to a specific costly policy ahead of a formal review due in December risks poor sequencing and fiscal indiscipline, especially when the chancellor faces competing demands on a tight budget. They contend that a rise to 90% of earnings over six weeks places a real burden on employers, particularly small businesses, and that decisions of this scale should be grounded in the evidence and trade-off analysis the parental leave review is designed to provide, rather than agreed under backbench pressure timed to a single fiscal event.