Tulip Siddiq made UK Parliament history on Tuesday night by becoming the first British MP on maternity leave to vote via proxy during the crucial Brexit amendments in the House of Commons.

I believe I will be the first MP to vote by proxy tomorrow! I’ve asked @vickyfoxcroft to do the honours. Thank you to the Speaker, @andrealeadsom @HarrietHarman @joswinson & others. Raphael & I are so grateful that I can represent my constituents in these important votes. pic.twitter.com/YgBa4WeV0d

— Tulip Siddiq (@TulipSiddiq) January 29, 2019

 The new mother, who recently gave birth to son Raphael, had been leading a campaign for Britain to allow such proxy voting for new parents and her campaign proved successful in pushing through a year-long pilot of the scheme this week.

“So grateful that I can represent my constituents in these important votes,” the London-based Labour Party MP said in a Twitter statement.

Under the new rules, MPs who are expecting children can specify a period of absence — up to six months for mothers and two weeks for fathers — and name another MP to cast their vote for them during that time.
Siddiq, the niece of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, had named fellow Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft as her proxy in a series of seven Brexit amendments being voted on this week to determine the future course of Brexit.
“It just goes to show that if you campaign for change it does happen,” said Siddiq, MP for Hampstead and Kilburn.
It was the scene of her being wheeled into the Commons on a wheelchair to cast her vote in a previous Brexit vote that had bolstered support for a historic change to parliamentary rules. She gave birth to her son on January 19 after delaying her planned Caesarean due to a the crucial vote that defeated the government's Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union (EU) on January 15.
Tuesday votes saw British MPs rejecting a chaotic no-deal Brexit by 318 to 310 votes and also backing British Prime Minister Theresa May’s bid to change the defeated Withdrawal Agreement.
Conservative Party MP Caroline Spelman and Labour MP Jack Dromey had tabled an amendment to try to prevent a crash-out exit of the UK from the EU, which won the support of MPs by eight votes. However, the vote is not legally binding – meaning it showed the view of the House of Commons but does nothing to change the Brexit date of March 29.
Soon after, MPs voted in favour of an amendment backed by the government to seek “alternative arrangements” to the controversial Irish backstop, which seeks to avert a hard border between Britain and Ireland after Brexit. May had said she was backing the amendment to re-open negotiations in Brussels with an "emphatic message" of what British MPs want.
The amendment tabled by Tory MP Graham Brady passed by 317 votes to 301 - a majority of 16, which effectively calls on May to renegotiate her Brexit deal with the EU and find an alternative to the controversial Irish backstop.
"We will now take this mandate forward and seek to obtain legally binding changes to the Withdrawal Agreement that deal with concerns on the backstop while guaranteeing no return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. My colleagues and I will talk to the EU about how we address the House’s views,” May said in a statement after the vote.
The Commons also voted against a proposal to delay Brexit in order to prevent the UK leaving without a deal. The amendment had been put forward by Labour Party m MP Yvette Cooper, but was rejected by 23 votes.