British politicians broke down in tears in parliament last night

Politicians are famous for their proverbially thick skin. But there were emotional scenes in the House of Commons last night when Antoinette Sandbach, the Conservative MP for Eddisbury, broke down in tears after sharing the story of the night she lost her child. 

Sandbach was taking part in an adjournment debate on bereavement care in maternity units that had been proposed by Will Quince, the Conservative MP for Colchester who has also suffered the loss of his baby. 

Adjournment debates are an opportunity for back bench MPs to raise issues that are close to their hearts. These debates are usually very poorly attended.

But last night Tory MPs packed the benches behind Will Quince and Antoinette Sandbach to show their support. Many took to Twitter afterwards to praise their bravery.

     Since the MPs were just debating a motion and not voting on it, last night's debate didn't lead to any legislative change on maternity care. But Quince and Sandbach will hope they have opened up a debate on the subject.

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