No parent should have to face the devastating loss of a child. But for around 2,400 families every year in England and Wales, that is the reality they experience.

I was proud to introduce a Bill in Parliament to make one simple but important change: giving bereaved parents the option to register a stillbirth remotely.

This Bill was inspired by my constituents Cassie and Ryan Claydon from Chadderton, who tragically lost their daughter Matilda at 36 weeks and are campaigning to make this change, and it was an honour to welcome them to Parliament to hear the Bill being presented.

When they shared their experience with me, they explained how having to attend a register office in person added another layer of distress at the worst possible moment of their lives.

For some families, attending in person will be the right choice and that option must remain. But for others, the ability to register a stillbirth from home, surrounded by loved ones, would provide a small but meaningful act of compassion.

Scotland has already shown that remote registration can work, protecting the integrity of the process while giving bereaved families greater choice and flexibility.

Government cannot prevent tragedy. But it can ensure that its own systems are compassionate, understanding and fit for the people they serve.

I am grateful to Cassie and Ryan for sharing their story and for turning their own heartbreaking experience into a campaign for change that could help thousands of families in the future.

For Matilda, and for every family affected by baby loss, we can and must do better.

It was an honour to sit alongside Chadderton couple Cassie and Ryan Claydon on Sky News to talk about their campaign to allow remote stillbirth registrations in England and Wales, so that grieving parents don’t have to attend the registrars office in person waiting alongside new parents and their newborn babies.

It was a privilege to bring a Bill to Parliament to raise awareness too, and I hope we are able to build support to make it a reality.

It was a pleasure to welcome Chadderton couple Cassie and Ryan Claydon to Parliament today to hear the Ten Minute Rule Bill they proposed to change the law in England and Wales to allow the remote registration of stillbirths.

This is quite a moment; to see an issue raised at a constituency advice surgery in Royton presented as a Bill to Parliament. While they don’t routinely become law it is an important way to highlight an issue and on something so simple but effective I hope ministers take it on board.

I’ll post the speech tomorrow morning!

Parents of stillborn babies are asking for a simple change to the law that would spare them unnecessary distress at one of the most challenging moments of their lives.

Cassie and Ryan Claydon are constituents of mine in Chadderton. They experienced the devastating loss of their daughter, Matilda at 36 weeks, and told me about the grief they endured in the hours, days and weeks that followed – and still feel to this day.

What made that experience even more painful was that, like all parents of stillborn babies in England and Wales, they were required to attend the register office in person to register their daughter’s stillbirth.

Having to wait alongside new parents with their babies at such a time of profound grief is an experience they do not want anyone else to have to endure.

As Cassie said; “The in-person requirement meant sitting among new parents, blissfully registering their babies’ births. There, in a waiting room filled with celebration, we were engulfed in a contrasting wave of sorrow. This compounded our trauma during what was already the worst moment of our lives.”

The change they are calling for is simple: allow stillbirths to be registered remotely, as is already possible in Scotland.

Last year, around 2,300 families in England and Wales experienced the tragedy of a stillbirth. Giving bereaved parents the option of a telephone appointment, an online process or another form of electronic registration would remove the need to attend in person while preserving the integrity of the registration process.

On Wednesday 15 July, I will present a Ten Minute Rule Bill to Parliament that would make this change, with Cassie and Ryan in Parliament.

The Bill has cross-party support. It is a straightforward reform that would be simple to introduce and simple to implement.

More broadly, I hope it prompts us to think about how the state interacts with its citizens. Too often, people are expected to navigate systems designed for another era, or processes that no longer make practical sense.

I know that most Ten Minute Rule Bills do not become law. But there is nothing to stop the Government adopting this proposal. It is a small change that would make a meaningful difference to grieving families, and I hope ministers choose to act.

The Bill is scheduled to be read immediately following PMQs.

Read LabourList https://labourlist.org/2026/07/a-small-change-that-will-make-a-meaningful-difference/