Louise Mensch can happily chill out for the rest of the summer and indulge her three young children with an abundance of picnics, swimming, bike rides, trips to the beach, or whatever they wish to do, with her Blackberry safely switched off, knowing she is no longer at the beck and call of demanding parliamentary and constituency duties. Louise, MP for Corby & East Northamptonshire, now plans to move to New York to enjoy family life.

While others in high profile positions have resigned to spend more time with their family, how many of them also juggled a transatlantic marriage with a spouse living across the pond, which I believe was the real dilemma for Louise, who was an outstanding MP and gained national acclaim for her rigorous grilling of the Murdochs about the News International phone hacking scandal.

However, Louise had a pretty good idea what she was getting into and the huge demands on personal life of being an MP. When Louise had dinner at my house with two other parliamentary candidates, Elizabeth Truss (who has two young daughters) and Michelle Tempest,  prior to the last general election, I was amazed by her endless energy, how she maintained regular visits to the States to see her partner while at the same time contesting a tough seat, as well as being a devoted mum, still writing novels, and running in the mornings too.

When I met Louise she seemed to have it all worked out and relished what lay ahead if elected. Unfortunately, it does not seem to have gone to plan and she found the strain on her family life intolerable. It must have been exhausting too. You can’t be all things to all people and I have no idea how women MPs juggle family life, being a mum and wife too, while working as a glorified social worker.

What Louise had also perhaps not banked on was getting married only a year after being elected to a guy who lived thousands of miles away, being unable to live a normal married life with her new husband (or even have a honeymoon according to reports) – normal for an MP, that is, who is likely to work 80 hours a week. If her new husband lived in England, would she still have resigned?

It is a pity though that she could not have stayed on until a replacement had been elected at the very least. I only hope her resignation does not deter constituencies from selecting women as parliamentary candidates who want to make those personal sacrifices. At the end of the day, it comes down to personal choice.

Saying that, I always loved spending the summer holidays with my young sons when they were growing up.  I remember one mum (who didn’t work) bragging about how she had packed hers off on an endless flow of summer courses and events for virtually every day of the six weeks school break so she didn’t have to spend time with them.

What’s the point of being a mum if you can’t enjoy your children’s company at least some of the time? Happy holidays Louise! You will be missed in the House.