Emily Thornberry, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Maternity, made the suggestion while speaking at a Labour party conference fringe event called "Stuck at the bottom? What happens to the worst-off families in a recession?"
Discussing the government's announcement earlier this month that mothers should be able to transfer six months of their maternity leave to fathers with three months unpaid, Thornberry said: "I think we are moving in the right direction but could go much further. Where there is a couple, if you want the full entitlement of paid leave both parents should have to take some time off. For example, if the father takes three months off then the mother takes the other nine."
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