Labor shadow minister Liz Kendall reveals she has to step back from politics to become a mother at age 50 with the help of a surrogate
- Leicester West MP reveals he and partner are expecting a baby in the new year
- She is the first MP to have a child with the help of a surrogate
- Turns out she had suffered two miscarriages before trying to conceive
Labor shadow minister and former leadership challenger Liz Kendall has announced that she is expecting a mother at the age of 50.
The Leicester West MP has revealed that she and her partner are expecting a baby in the new year with the help of a surrogate.
She said she plans to temporarily step down as shadow minister for social care ‘to make the most of this precious time with the newest member of our family’.
She is believed to be the first MP to have a child in this way, although Labor peer Baroness Ona King had a baby in 2013 via a surrogate.
Ms Kendall told Spectator she had two miscarriages and required surgery during her attempts to conceive naturally, adding: ‘We’ve gone through a lot to get here but it’s really happening now and We are telling people this week.’
The Leicester West MP has revealed that she and her partner are expecting a baby in the new year with the help of a surrogate.
Ms. Kendall was first elected in 2010 and belongs to the centrist liberal wing of the party. Pictured on a visit as part of the APPG on the Armed Forces in 2016
Ms. Kendall was previously in a relationship with Inbetweeners and Taskmaster star Greg Davis, but it ended in 2015.
The Cambridge-educated Blairite who dreamed of becoming a dancer
Liz Kendall was born in Abbots Langley, near Watford.
His mother was an elementary school teacher, his labour-supportive father dropped out of school at the age of 16, working for the ranks at the Bank of England.
She was the head girl at Watford Grammar and won a position at Cambridge, although she was persuaded to take it up when her mother asked her to pursue her dream of becoming a professional dancer.
She captained the women’s football team at Queen’s College, Cambridge, earning a first-class degree.
Her first job at Westminster was as an aide to the arch-Blewright Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt.
She ran for the leadership in 215, but ended up losing a final finish to Jeremy Corbyn, as the party disastrously overtook the left after Ed Miliband lost the election to David Cameron and resigned.
He supported tighter restrictions on immigration and said his party should support the EU referendum – which happened the following year anyway.
He also said that the party should embrace business and stop advocating high taxation ‘just to make a point’.
Last night he tweeted: ‘Overwhelmed by all the messages today.
‘I’m sorry I can’t answer everyone but it’s been a lovely day and I will remember it for a very long time. Thank you x.’
Ms. Kendall was first elected in 2010 and belongs to the centrist liberal wing of the party.
She stood to replace Ed Miliband as Labor leader on the Blairite platform in 2015, but finished last in a contest won by Jeremy Corbyn.
He then declined to work for the hard-left leader, but was given a shadow role by his successor, Sir Keir Starmer.
Breaking her family news in her local newspaper Leicester Mercury, she said: ‘I am taking a break from work to make the most of this precious time with the newest member of my family.
‘But I want to assure my constituents that my office will remain fully open, and that my entire team will continue to provide the best help and support to local residents.’
He received congratulations from across the political spectrum, with former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson saying: ‘This is lovely news, Liz. Hearty congratulations. You will make such a wonderful mother.’
Ms. Kendall was previously in a relationship with Inbetweeners and Taskmaster star Greg Davis, but it ended in 2015.
She opened up about her personal life while running to become Labor leader: ‘As you get older, of course you want to settle down, but life changes and it doesn’t work.
‘Who knows what will happen? That’s all I say. I am a person who loves and wants to be loved.’
Last month he told Parliament about the impact of menopause in a debate on free hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
‘To be honest, I’m not really sure when the symptoms first started. But they’ve been building up steadily for the past year or so – a really horrible feeling of anxiety and panic that I’d never experienced before; Feeling completely exhausted, aches and pains, in the evening wondering if I could make the stairs to go to bed, let alone exercise which has always been such an important part of my life; itching, hair loss, and feeling drowsy; And above all, what I can only describe as frighteningly poor sleep, night after night.
“I’ll finally leave the morning drenched in sweat, thinking: “How am I going to make it through the day?”
‘Like many other women, I had absolutely no idea what was going on.’
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