Woman's Day
Prime Minister Bill English and his wife Mary have opened up about their 30-year marriage, raising six kids and balancing politics and family in a candid chat with Woman’s Day.
In the lead up to the election, Bill and Mary welcomed New Zealand’s most popular women’s magazine to Premier House, giving a wide-ranging interview, covering babies, nappies, housework, careers and empty-nest syndrome – plus the new political playing field since Jacinda Ardern became Labour Party leader.
If he’s feeling the pressure of Jacinda’s rising popularity in the polls ahead of the September 23 election, Bill’s not letting on, saying it hasn’t changed much for him and the National Party. “Politics is unpredictable,” he says. “It was always going to be a tough campaign and a tough election to win. In the end, people vote on their broader interest and not just on personalities.”
Bill and Mary have raised their large family while juggling successful careers – his in politics and hers in medicine.
“We wouldn’t have survived if we didn’t have that team approach,” says Mary, 54.
Bill and Mary have raised their large family while juggling successful careers.
Bill, 55, says his political career is incredibly important – but family has always come first. “The job is a huge part of our life but the more important part is what we’ve done together as a family.”
He adds that having children while working in Parliament isn’t hugely different to other families juggling their home life with busy careers. “Sometimes it’s been pretty exhausting,” he says, “and it needs a lot of organisation.”
Mary hopes that the debate over sexism that raged after Jacinda was asked about her plan for a family hasn’t put her off motherhood.
She tells Woman’s Day: “What I’d say as a mother coming out the other end of bringing up children hands-on is it’s a wonderful job to have and do, and I just hope she’ll give it a go at some stage because she’d be a really good mum and she’d really enjoy it.”
