Baby Joy puts everything into perspective

Elaine delivered a beautiful baby boy this morning at 9.37am. Weighing in at a massive 9lb 10.5oz we have a very big boy on our hands with big lungs and a ferocious appetite.

Despite the rumours, Myles Andrew Cook was not born by caesarean section because Elaine is "too posh to push", he was actually facing the wrong way - clearly having inherited his mothers sense of direction - and what Elaine calls a "sunroof job" was the safest way to ensure both mother and child remained healthy.

The staff at the Queen Mother's Hospital have been quite simply fantastic all day, helping us to get used to one another and sorting out Big MAC's low blood sugar level. If anyone ever questions the capabilities of our NHS they need only speak to anyone who has experienced the dedication and professionalism of midwifes up and down the country as a testimony to all that is best in our health service.

It will be a few days before I get mother and baby home and I can't wait to introduce him to the dozens and dozens of people who have been so eager to meet little Cookie. Elaine is insistent on a "no canvassing with the baby" clause until he is a little older but I think I might manage to cart him around for leaflet delivery when the weather suits.

Today's events put everything I do into perspective and fill me with a sense that it has never been more important to campaign for a new government in order that Myles and his generation grow up with hope for the future. If my generation fail generations to come we will leave them paying off the massive national debt being incurred today to pay off current generations greed and stupidity. Holding your own baby just a minute or so after his birth really is a bewildering experience that it is difficult to put into words. So here's to Myles and Elaine with all my love and adoration - I just never thought I would blog on such a miraculous event and thank God I am able to do so today.