Karen Constantine explains why she cannot support Bridget Phillipson and why Labour members should veto her ambition to be deputy leader.
Time has passed since Labour came to power. The weight of the evidence for a formal apology in respect of historic forced adoptions is incontrovertible. Despite Bridget Phillipson’s stint at the helm of the DfE, Labour has failed to act. Failed in fact to even engage with those impacted by this murky and traumatic past. Despite Phillipson’s endless references to her own working-class upbringing, the “baby scope era”, described as a mass transfer of working-class babies to middle-class families, has failed to elicit her involvement.
The time for silence has also passed. On August 21st, ‘25, ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown publicly backed the national campaign demanding an official apology regarding the dark and hidden history of historic forced adoptions in the UK.
This welcome intervention and endorsement have reignited the urgent discussion surrounding the traumatic legacy of forced adoptions. Between 1949 and 1976, over 215,000 infants were taken from their mothers. Taken, not given. The long-held narrative that adoption was in the best interest of these children and their mothers has now been irrevocably shattered.
The truth is harsh. It was neither beneficial for the mothers nor the children. It was commodification of babies, human trafficking, which resulted in endless trauma and provided handsome profit for the religious institutions that created an almost inescapable network.
In a practice that lasted well into the late 1980s, estimates of up to half a million women and girls were coerced into having their babies taken, simply because they were unmarried and often young. Society manufactured an industrial-scale shame to justify these actions, backed by an energetic network of church, social, and moral welfare workers. An apocryphal, folk demon image of the unwed mother was popularised. A fate to be avoided at all costs. Many, if not most, religious organisations in the UK played a role in operating euphemistically named “mother and baby homes,” where vulnerable women were charged fees to hide away in substandard conditions. Away from family and friends, employment and education terminated. In these “homes”, they were subjected to dormitory-style living arrangements, forced into hard physical work during their pregnancies, treated appallingly, sometimes subject to further abuse from predatory men, not provided pain relief during birth, and after childbirth, they were discarded like unwanted goods while their newborns were sold to families willing to donate a handsome amount for a child. The mothers were also systematically deceived, led to believe that rigorous checks were in place to ensure the best adoption match for their babies. In reality, it was a little more than a lottery; social services also turned a blind eye, which is precisely why the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) is also demanding a formal apology. “Justice delayed is justice denied” – government must apologise for forced adoption | BASW “Justice delayed is justice denied” – government must apologise for forced adoption | BASW
In 2020, then MP, now Baroness Harriet Harman, initiated a JCHR, a joint commission on human rights to investigate these historical forced adoption practices. The inquiry, which framed its findings around the Adoption Acts of 1949 and 1976, concluded in July 2022 that the government must issue a formal apology and provide reparations to those impacted. Yet, despite ongoing efforts from various campaigns advocating for this apology, the government has remained largely unresponsive, leading some to wonder if they have a problem with older women.
The Movement for an Adoption Apology, and the newly formed HFAA, Historic Forced Adoption Alliance, https://www.facebook.com/share/1CkzxCF9jM/ have tirelessly sought to engage in dialogue with government officials, both with Janet Daby MP, the ex-children’s minister now replaced by Josh McAlister MP, and Bridget Phillipson. They have sent an expansive and detailed letter outlining the profound difficulties and trauma faced by unmarried mothers during this era and to this day. They have called for research and action on the increased suicide risk that recent research reveals, the devastating separation of families, and they have highlighted the urgent need for trauma-informed support for those subjected to these abhorrent practices and called for the urgent protection of vital records. MAA and others have alerted the government to the intergenerational risks of Diethylstilbestrol (DES), which can cause reproductive changes and diseases in both the mothers and their children. They have highlighted the pressing need for adopted people to have access to their biologically relevant medical history. Campaigners have called for all records to be protected, especially as local government reorganisation could cause many more files to disappear in fires or floods. Ministers urged to digitise adoption records to help reunite families | Local government | The Guardian Ministers urged to digitise adoption records to help reunite families | Local government | The Guardian
The Labour government’s response to date has mirrored the previous Conservative government’s lacklustre approach. It has been characterised as stonewalling and prevarication, with Labour ministers Janet Daby and Bridget Phillipson offering nothing more than a hollow acknowledgement that such events occurred. There has been a deplorable lack of engagement with the substantive issues raised. Many people assumed an incoming Labour government would honour the parliamentary inquiry it instigated.
Now, with Gordon Brown’s involvement pushing this issue into the spotlight, there is renewed hope that the government may finally be compelled to act. Brown is calling for a full formal apology. Meanwhile, ITV’s investigative journalist Sarah Coker continues to shed light on the ongoing tragedy as it unfolds, including reports of baby deaths in mother and baby homes, which again underscore the urgent need for accountability.
Gordon Brown stated if further investigation is required, it will happen. The unmarked graves associated with mother and baby homes across the U.K., but notably St Monica’s in Kendall, the Hopedene Maternity Home in Newcastle and St Pelagia’s in Highgate, North London, and many more elsewhere, signal that further robust investigations are urgently required. Almost 70 mass unmarked child graves discovered by ITV News investigation into mother and baby homes | ITV News. https://youtu.be/a6qZVXZ8UlA
The weight of the evidence is compelling, and the time for action is now. Bridget Phillipson has failed to act. We will not accept any more half-hearted statements from Labour Ministers, no more passing the buck, or avoidance tactics; the government must confront its past and acknowledge the pain inflicted on thousands of mothers and their children. Only through truth and reconciliation can we, those of us who experienced this modern-day horror, begin to heal the wounds of this dark chapter in our history. The women, their children and all the victims of this dreadful practice demand nothing less.