When the opposition are such a Tory-lite shitshow, refusing to oppose the Rwanda policy or the Israeli assault on Gaza, and think nothing of parachuting in a candidate with no connection to our constituency, it's not hard to decide not to give them my vote. But just when it seems it might be possible to tick the box for the Greens with a completely clear conscience, they have to go and do something stupid like advocating "natural" childbirth.
The Guardian's Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett has explained exactly why the proposed policy would be so offensive and regressive, reawakening the "too posh to push" narrative and denying women control over how they give birth and their own bodies. She warns that it would open up a new front in the culture wars: "This isn't about pitting unmedicated vaginal births against births that have involved medical intervention ... This is about reproductive freedom, and politics muscling in on the issue of female bodily autonomy yet again, something that all women should abhor, no matter how - or if - a woman chooses to have a baby. It detracts from the more important question of how we fix maternity services."
Thankfully, the Greens have taken note of the backlash, seen sense and backtracked - but, personally speaking, the episode is a timely and painful reminder that of the dangers of giving wholehearted, unequivocal support to any party.
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