Conservative MP Siobhan Baillie wells up in Commons as she describes difficulties for nephew with Down's syndrome

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An MP welled up in the House of Commons as she described the battles her sister and her nephew, who has Down’s syndrome, have gone through.

Siobhan Baillie, Conservative MP for Stroud in Gloucestershire, started to tear up twice as she spoke of her 19-year-old nephew, Rhys.

She was talking during the third reading debate of the Down’s Syndrome Bill, aimed at giving people with the condition, and their carers, legal protections to secure the help they need.

‘My little sister battled for understanding’

Ms Baillie, who became an MP in 2019, described how Rhys is “the light of every room he enters” as she spoke in favour of the bill.

As she started to explain her sister Alice’s story, including her getting pregnant at 15 and not having any support surrounding Rhys’ diagnosis, Ms Baillie started tearing up.

“I have seen my little sister battle for the understanding about Down’s syndrome,” she said.

As she started to tear up again, other MPs intervened to give her a moment before she continued, saying: “I have seen my little sister battle for the understanding about Down’s syndrome.

“I have seen her battle for the right to medical care for operations in a timely fashion. She has battled for education.

“She has battled for housing. She has battled to get landlords to take people with benefits. She has battled during the transition from raising a child to an adult.

“She has battled to get the council to complete a required assessment. She has battled with welfare assessment and DLA appeals.

“She has battled with endless application forms and then had to redo them because they are lost by various authorities and had to start all over again.”