Will Gordon Brown protect infants and mothers?

Today we have a new Prime Minister in the UK. This prompts us to ask: Will Gordon Brown protect infants and mothers?

As our press release relates, 12 years ago the Labour Party opposed the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations as being too weak and not reflecting the advice given by health experts. We had organised a campaign encouraging partners to comment and call for the measures to be brought into line with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent, relevant World Health Assembly Resolutions. See:
http://www.babymilkaction.org/press/press27june07.html

Opposition in Parliament was led by Tony Blair, but when he became Prime Minster bringing the law into line with the Code and Resolutions was not a priority.

It has taken concerted campaigning to prompt a commitment from the government to strengthen the regulations and the recently-announced crack down on illegal practices. See:
http://boycottnestle.blogspot.com/2007/03/letters-that-took-12-years-to-write.html

Much will be made of the early decisions made by Gordon Brown and what it signifies for the direction of his administration.

We hope that our campaigning with our partners will ensure that protecting infant health and mothers' rights is one of the issues on his list and he will give it the attention he deserves. He has said he will prioritise the National Health Service and improving protection and delivering other aspects of the Breastfeeding Manifesto will save the NHS money while improving infant health. If you are in the UK you can encourage your Member of Parliament to sign up to the Breastfeeding Manifesto at:
http://www.breastfeedingmanifesto.org.uk/