Sophie Grégoire Trudeau’s request for more assistance defended by Ed Miliband's wife Justine Thorton

'Spouses are thrust into the political world often without ever choosing it and sometimes without any support at all,' says Thornton

Ms Thornton drew attention to the fact that fellow political wives, Cherie Blair, Sarah Brown and Samantha Cameron, had help with their official duties (Getty Images)

The wife of Ed Miliband has defended Sophie Grégoire Trudeau’s request for additional support to help her manage her public duties.

Ms Grégoire Trudeau, a 41-year-old former television presenter who is married to the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, sparked a fierce international debate after admitting she was struggling with just one member of staff.

“I’d love to be everywhere but I can’t,” she told Quebec newspaper Le Soleil last week. “I have three children and a husband who is Prime Minister. I need help. I need a team to help me serve the people.”

Justine Thornton, a lawyer who has been married to Mr Miliband since 2011, has come to the defence of Ms Grégoire Trudeau, arguing that it is not possible for political wives to participate in public life without sufficient support.

“If we expect spouses to participate in public life, in the way Michelle Obama has done, carving out a role that combines being the US first lady (an unofficial position, by the way) with her various projects, then they will need some help,” she wrote in a Guardian comment piece.

“Political leaders seem to have an ever-growing entourage, but their spouses are thrust into the political world often without ever choosing it, and sometimes without any support at all,” she added. “Yet they are constantly under scrutiny and expected not to screw up”.

Ms Thornton drew attention to the fact that fellow political wives, Cherie Blair, Sarah Brown and Samantha Cameron, had help with their official duties. “It was Norma Major who, rightly, set the precedent by asking for help".

She warned Ms Grégoire Trudeau not to be discouraged or unnerved by the criticism she has received in the last week, explaining that it is part and parcel of the job. She also urged Ms Grégoire Trudeau to use this as an opportunity to spark a public debate about what exactly it is which is expected of both male and female political spouses.

Ms Grégoire Trudeau's request prompted an onslaught of criticism from Canadian opposition MPs and the issue has been widely debated on social media, with the hashtag #jesuissophie and #prayforsophie trending.

Ms Thornton also relayed her own experiences of being a political wife to the former Labour leader, discussing the two-fold pressure of maintaining her job and being in the public eye and thus under the scrutiny of the media.

She explained it was difficult to juggle work commitments and official duties. “I carried on working at my own job for the most part,” she wrote. “But then I discovered that I was being defined by my absence. I realised that all most Labour members knew about me was the make of the dress I wore when I showed up for Ed’s speech to the annual party conference. I started to make a few speeches myself, so people would see me as more than a dress”.

Nevertheless, Ms Thorton remained adamant that political wives should not be part of a compulsory package on offer to voters.